Of Sunburns And Pocky
by pretty in orange
Summary: A collection of non-related oneshots. ShikiXRima occasional fluff and/or angst warning.
1. Young Love

Author Note: This is a one-shot. It's the first in a collection of one-shots. I got the idea as I was trying to get up and get moving in the morning, so that's why it's a bit strange. It is from when they were younger, about 14 maybe? Rima's point of view.

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**Disclaimer: **I don't own Vampire Knight and I make no profit whatsoever from this.

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"Great!" Gustavo, our photographer for the day called. "Great, now can I get you guys to kiss?"

"I-... I need a small break." I walked away from the camera and Shiki followed me. I had never been asked to kiss someone on camera, not ever. I hadn't even had my first kiss!

"Rima?" Shiki followed me off into a corner. "What's wrong?"

Shiki and I had a growing connection to each other, had since we met. Where he was distant to anyone else other than his mother, he was warm and caring to me.

"I can't kiss you... not on camera..." I scrubbed at my teary eyes, no doubt smearing my makeup.

"Why? It's just a kiss right?" Shiki tipped his head to the side, looking like a puppy. Stupid boys.

"I haven't had my first kiss yet..." I lowered my voice to try and keep everyone else at the shoot out of this. "What if I don't know how to do it? What if I look stupid not knowing how to kiss on camera and it's immortalized forever in film?"

"Come here..." Shiki hugged me. "If you want I can give you a lesson. On how to kiss..."

I felt my face go crimson under my makeup. Did I want to learn kissing from Shiki? "A-alright..."

"Tip your head to the side..." He smiled as I tipped my head slightly to the left. "No, the right is better."

"I feel stupid." I sighed. "Really, really stupid."

"Just relax. Now put your lips like this..." He showed me. "Lean in a little..."

Then we were kissing. I was kissing my best friend, Shiki Senri. I closed my eyes slowly and tried to enjoy it. With my little experience, I couldn't exactly be sure, but it seemed like he was a really good kisser. There weren't any fireworks going off in my brain, but there was something really nice about Shiki kissing me. I didn't understand it at the moment, but I would soon enough.

I started to panic, was I doing ok?

Shiki pulled away, gave me a strange look, and then held my hands. "Are you ready to go back and finish the photo shoot, Rima?"

"Yes." I was beyond ready, I felt good, and warm all over. I wasn't nervous anymore. I mean, Shiki was my best friend and he would've said something before I embarrassed myself.

"Go get your makeup fixed." He gave me a gentle push towards the makeup table where the annoyed makeup artist, Tira was waiting.

When I finally returned to the photo shoot set, Shiki was watching me. As I came closer, a small smile perked at his lips.

"Are you ready, Rima?" Gustavo smiled at me. Shiki had clearly said something to him, but I didn't care.

"Yes, sir." I made my way over to Shiki.

"I want to see kisses like you're madly in love." Gustavo hid behind his camera.

I leaned in tilted my head to the right, just like Shiki had taught me.

After our lips met, I forgot everything about Gustavo and his camera clicking away. Shiki and I kissed, and then kissed some more, until Gustavo sighed.

Shiki and I pulled away from each other and looked at him in surprise.

"I got some really good pictures and all, but..." Gustavo walked over and wiped his thumb around my lips. "Shiki, you're messing up Rima's lipstick."

I couldn't help but blush, maybe we had gone a little overboard... but it was nice. It was beyond nice really.

"Sorry." Shiki mumbled, but he didn't look sorry.

After our photo shoot, we ended up at the park, sharing a box of pocky. It was early evening, we should've been asleep, but we'd rather be with each other than at home. We were both tired, but had unanimously and silently decided to hang out instead of go home and sleep.

"Shiki?" I asked on a whim. He looked at me. "Do you like me?"

Shiki froze, a pocky stick halfway to his mouth. "Why do you ask?"

I raised my left eyebrow at him. "Do I really need to answer that?"

"No." He paused and nibbled at his pocky. "I don't know... we shouldn't be mixing work and relationships should we?"

"It's a little late for that." I commented dryly. "So right now your choices for an answer are 'yes' or 'no'. Tell the truth."

"You're not going to give up on this are you?" Shiki shook his head but he had a smile on his lips. "You just have to know, don't you?"

"Shiki..." I sighed and rolled my eyes. "You're so difficult. It's like training a puppy being with you sometimes."

I hadn't realized that the pocky in his hand had mysteriously disappeared until he grabbed me with both hands and pulled me in, kissing me hard.

Maybe Shiki and I were meant to be more than friends, and that day, kissing on the park bench, I figured everything out that I needed to know.

Shiki was mine and mine alone. He liked me and I liked him, and that was definitely enough.

The last drop of sunlight faded away, leaving us in safety of sunburns, and we cuddled close to each other.

That was enough.

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Author Note: Ugh this took forever! I kept getting sidetracked (think ooh shiny) and forgetting what I was doing! There will be more, I'm positive, so keep an eye out if you wish. Review or PM me about my stories, I love hearing from you! Lastly, thank you for taking time to read my stories, I appreciate you all greatly.


	2. Sunburns

Author Note: In honor of the title, here's Sunburns. Angst warning.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Vampire Knight and make no profit from this.

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"You went out without an umbrella. Idiot." I chastised Shiki. "You're completely sunburned. Why did you go out without an umbrella? I may have to kill you now."

"Please do. I'm in pain. I would like it to end." Shiki was not his normal self today, he had even run outside and away from cross academy without a shirt. And it was noon.

"I'll get the aloe gel. Stay." I stood and went into the bathroom.

"Is he ok?" Takuma asked, peering into the bathroom while I searched the cupboards. "I heard Shiki got sunburned."

"He'll be fine." I chose not to mention Shiki's odd behavior to Takuma. "He's had worse." I pulled the bright blue aloe gel out of the cupboard, squeezed past Takuma, and then darted into Shiki's room.

"I know." Shiki was talking into his cell phone. "_I know. _I don't know where she would be. I looked for her. Yes. Ok. Keep looking. Thank you." He clicked his cell shut and threw it across the room, without breaking it.

"Is that about...?" I asked, uncapping the aloe gel and squeezing some into my palm.

"Yes." Shiki nodded sadly. "My Mom ran away."

"You went looking for her." My anger melted away. I worked the gel into his chest and stomach, and then went to his arms. "You don't have a clue where she would be?"

"No. I checked everywhere she could be." Shiki flinched as I touched the back of his neck, a particularly sunburned spot.

"Sorry." I knelt behind him on the bed and focused on his lobster-red back. "I don't think it would be wise for you to go outside in this condition... so maybe I should..."

"You're not going anywhere, Rima." Shiki whipped around and grabbed me by my shoulders. "She's not stable. She's hurt people before. I'm not risking losing you too."

"I'd be fine." I argued, but the look in his eyes told me I wasn't going anywhere. "Fine. If you want me to I'll stay. Turn back around."

He obeyed and I finished coating his body with the medicinal gel.

"I have to do your face now Shiki." I murmured and he turned around to look at me. "Everything will be ok, I promise." I kissed his lips one, carefully. "Your Mom might not be stable, but she's not stupid. I've met her, remember?"

"Yes." Shiki whispered and flinched as I tried to gently rub the gel onto his face. "I just hate that she does this... she knows I worry."

"They'll find her." I gave him a small smile. "It'll be ok."

"Rima..." Shiki shook his head and I almost jabbed his eye out.

"Even if she was completely insane, she would still love you." I capped the bottle and set it on the nightstand. "And I bet she knows that you're worrying and she's headed home now."

"Why do you always have such a positive outlook," Shiki began slowly. "When it's clear that things aren't going to end up that way?"

"Don't be such a drama queen. She's run away before." I squeaked as he pulled me in tight against him. "Shiki? What are you doing?"

"I just... need you right now..." He squeezed me gently. "Do you have somewhere you need to be?" He looked at me with the eyes of a scared child.

"No. I can always be here." I whispered. He smelled medicinal, and kind of like pocky. Somehow, that was comforting.

"Thank you." He lifted one hand from my back to pull the ribbons from my hair.

I didn't bother to ask what he was doing, mostly because I didn't care, and I didn't want to say anything and risk upsetting him again.

The next day, Shiki's Mom was found dead.

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Author Note: Angst-y ending, I know. I'm sorry. I just read about Shiki's Mom and all I could think about was her being unstable. Reviews and PMs about my stories are welcome! Thank you for spending some of your time reading my story, I appreciate it!


	3. Always

Author Note: Please note that these are not in any kind of order; I'm probably going to skip all over the place. Yes, I am in one of my moods right now and am probably going to put ShikiXRima in the worst situations possible for a while. By the way, do vampires have periods? I think they do but Vampire Knight isn't exactly the anime to tell you that kind of thing...

Disclaimer: I don't own this anime/manga or make any profit from this story.

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It was my 18th birthday, and where was I? In my room at Cross Academy, feeling horrible.

"Takuma said to wish you happy birthday for him." Shiki mumbled from his spot beside me. "So happy birthday from Takuma."

"Tell him I said thanks." I pressed my face into a pillow. I felt faint all the time, standing up always resulted in unconsciousness, and occasionally the room spun. Today was not a good day.

"Do you feel sick any other way?" Shiki rubbed my back. "Rima?"

"No. Not really." I paused and slowly rolled from my side onto my back. "Occasionally the room spinning makes me nauseous, but that's all."

"You should drink something..." Shiki opened my nightstand and started to shuffle through it for my case of blood tablets.

"No." I grabbed his arm. "Not that, not right now. I don't feel good, Shiki."

"Fine." He pulled me half overtop of him and pressed my head down so my lips were against his throat. "Drink."

I hesitated. Drinking each other's blood wasn't an uncommon occurrence between us, but I didn't want to right then. It just seemed weird at the moment.

"Rima... I want you to feel better. Please." Shiki moved his hand from the back of my head, giving me an opportunity to escape, but I didn't.

Carefully, I let my fangs sink into his neck. I only drank for a few moments, but when I pulled away, I felt immensely better. The room quit spinning, and I cuddled up to Shiki.

"Better?" He asked, slipping his arm around me.

"Mhm." I kissed his cheek.

I realized about a week later that my period was late. I hadn't been dizzy since I drank Shiki's blood, and I chose not to tell Shiki, or anyone, about it. I tried my best to ignore my skipped period and blamed it on stress.

But two more weeks later, I realized I still hadn't gotten my period. I finally gave in and told Shiki.

"I'm late." I sighed shakily. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you before. I thought it was stress..."

Shiki didn't look shocked at all, but then again, he rarely did. "How late?"

"Almost a month." I leaned on him and he held me close. "I don't know for sure... that I'm... pregnant... but this isn't normal." I looked up at him. "Are you mad?"

"Why would I be mad?" Shiki gathered me onto his lap. "You were scared. I would've appreciated knowing before, but I'm not mad that you didn't tell me."

"You're the best boyfriend ever." I breathed a sigh of relief. "Best anything ever."

"But there's something I wanted to talk to you about..." Shiki smiled at me, moving me off his lap.

"Huh?" Of course, I was clueless. As always when it comes to these things.

Shiki spun around, ending up on front of me on one knee. My eyes slowly began to bug out of my head. He opened a ring box and a diamond ring glimmered at me. "Rima, will you be my wife?"

All of my worry forgotten, I tackled him to the floor in a hug. "Of course!"

He slid the ring onto my finger and we lay on the floor for several more minutes.

"Shiki?" I whispered, frozen in the process of getting up, so I was actually pinning him down. "Do you only want to get married because I'm possibly pregnant?"

"No." Shiki chuckled, as if this genuinely amused him. "I was planning to propose on your birthday, but my plan was messed up when you didn't feel well."

I smiled and got to my feet just as the door opened. Takuma stood there, and he glanced down at my ring. "So you said yes!" He grinned. "Congratulations to you two!"

I smiled. "Thank you, Takuma..."

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A week later, I finally found myself brave enough to take a pregnancy test. By now everyone knew I was, I just wasn't sure I wanted to admit it. Aidou had even been being good, or at least, his version of good, which was giving input of names.

I watched as the pregnancy test slowly showed me the words, "YES" across the screen.

But I knew that everything would be ok now. Shiki wasn't upset, he wasn't scared, and even though I was scared, he would be there for me.

Always.

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Author Note: Yay! I didn't do another angst-y ending! Vampire periods... somehow that's ironic. Well, tell me what you think in a review or PM, if you want to that is, and thank you for using some of your precious time to read my story, it means a lot to me!


	4. Admitting It

Author Note: I was supposed to be writing on "Fixed" my current RukaXKain, but then I decided to do a one-shot first, especially since I just ended my big ShikiXRima story. In this one, they're not together yet. Rima's point of view by the way, enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Vampire Knight or make any profit from this.

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"Rima, admit it." Shiki handed me a box of Kleenex to wipe my nose. "You're sick."

"I will not admit it." I wiped my nose and then honked it into the tissues. "It's just allergies." I tossed the Kleenex into the trash bin.

We were out on the couch; we had gotten back from class a little early.

"Rima, you're not allergic to anything. Not even pollen." Shiki moved to pin me down. "Admit it, you're sick."

"No." I tried to shift away from him, but he grabbed both my wrists and put his knee on my skirt.

"Yes, admit it." He leaned down so we were nose to nose.

"No!" I screamed just as Ruka and Kain walked in.

"Yes!" Shiki protested.

"Keep it in your pants, Shiki." Kain called, heading for his room.

"No means no." Ruka added, but she stopped and glared at Shiki, which caused Kain to stop too.

"It's not what it looks like." I squirmed under Shiki. "He wants me to admit I'm sick. I'm not."

"Sweetie, you're sick." Ruka sighed. "Shiki, why don't you take her up to her room so she can rest?"

"I hate you all." I muttered. "From the bottom of my very soul."

"No you don't." Shiki's lips twitched into a smirk. "That's just the fever talking."

Fever? Come to mention it, I was a little cold. Shiki scooped me up and started towards my room.

"I hate you, Shiki. I really do." Even as I said that, I let my head rest against his chest. We were too close for me to mean it anyway.

"Sure you do." He wasn't the least bit hurt by my words either. "C'mon lets get you into bed. I don't want you to die."

"Like hell you will." I muttered and he laughed. "And I won't die. It's just a cold."

"So you admit that you're sick." Shiki tucked me into bed and sat next to me.

"Get down here... you're warm and I'm not." I grumbled and pulled him down, half on top of me.

"Rima, I am not a blanket." He chastised. "I don't think you want me on top of you like this."

"You're my best friend." I sighed, but I thought I saw him flinch. "You're warm. I trust you not to jump my bones. So why can't you be my blanket?" I realized with a vague interest that words were not coming out of my mouth the way I wanted them to, more like the way they wanted to.

"Rima, do you ever want to be... more than friends?" Shiki had moved off of me and off to my side, holding me.

"I've thought about it." I toyed idly with the top button on his shirt. "I just... I don't want to ruin our great friendship... What if we messed up all these years together for a week of love?"

Shiki sat up, and the feeling of his arms around me lingered for a moment, and then disappeared. A strange pang in my chest made me curl up more, staring at his back.

"Rima, do you love me?" Shiki wouldn't look at me. "If you love me like I love you, then everything will work out... but if you don't then I'm not sure how much longer I can stay like this."

I was sick. I was tired and cranky and felt like hell, and now I was being put through hell. Why? Why now?

"I do love you." I whispered, my quick temper turning into tears of frustration. "I just... I don't want to lose you. Ever."

"You're not going to lose me by giving me a chance." Shiki's tone was frustrated, something that you rarely heard from him. "Please, Rima... let me love you."

I closed my eyes. "You love me, you always will, even if I told you I wouldn't give you a chance?"

"Yes." Shiki knew exactly where I was going with this, as he turned back to me and held me close.

"Then hold me... and don't let go." I was starting to drift off, my words entering dangerous territory. "I want you to stay with me tonight..."

"I will." Shiki squeezed me gently against his chest. He smelled vaguely of Pocky and soap, with maybe a hint of blood tablet.

"Love you..." I whispered into his shirt.

"Love you too." He replied, and I fell asleep with those words ringing in my ears.

Still, they made me feel that much better.

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Author Note: There will be more of these, but right now my main project is Fixed, my RukaXKain. Still, I often can't help the little one-shot ideas I get constantly. I love reviews and PMs, and thank you for reading my story!


	5. Scars

Author Note: I did a chapter on my KainXRuka and then felt guilty I didn't have a ShikiXRima project anymore. And then I had the idea for this. Also, in the 2nd volume of the manga, does anyone else think Shiki looked anorexic in that hoodie? No? Just me?

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Vampire Knight or make any profit from this.

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"What's this?" Shiki asked me, holding up a letter from my modeling agent. "And why is it in the trash?"

"It's about a job I'm not doing." I tugged my uniform shirt off, pulled a tank top from my closet and skinned it on. Shiki and I were together, I didn't care about changing in front of him.

"You never turn down a modeling job." Shiki regarded me with a strange look. "What's wrong with you?"

"I just didn't want to, ok?" I tugged at the tank top a bit. "I don't get why you're making such a huge deal out of this. It's one job that I turned down. I'm not quitting modeling or anything."

"It was a swimsuit job." Shiki muttered, eyeing the letter. His eyes drifted to my chest on the left side. "Is there a scar?" He referenced my fight with Rido, where his blood whip had stabbed through my back, all the way through and out my chest.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "My shirt was just off, you tell me."

"I wasn't looking." Shiki stepped forward, gathered me up in his arms and hugged me to his chest. "They could cover it up. Or photo-shop it out."

"There'll be questions if they see it though." I tipped my head back, looking at him. "You know how nosy those people can be."

"Then you lie." His hand found the exact place where the blood whip had first pierced my skin on my back. The tank top barely covered it, so he slipped his fingers under the fabric and stroked the scar. "Say it was a bug bite or something."

"What was I bitten by?" I challenged, my temper coming into play. "A goliath bird eating spider? Honestly."

Shiki buried his face in my hair. "I'm so sorry, Rima... I've caused you so much pain."

"I'm not mad at you. Quit apologizing." I looked up at him and because of his proximity, our noses brushed. "I'm mad at him. And _you _didn't do it. _He _did."

"Yes, but..." He trailed off when he saw my close range glare.

"Don't 'but' me." I didn't let my glare falter, though I felt like crying. "I'm not doing the job, so just leave me alone about it."

"You used to love swimsuit jobs." Shiki's lips pulled up at the corners, he was no longer afraid of me. What had I done wrong? "You told me once, when we were younger, that you secretly loved it when they put you in something pink and frilly. That black was your comfort color, but when forced into something pink and girly, you enjoyed it."

"Shiki, you're not going to convince me to do the job." I attempted to back up, but Shiki kept his arm around me.

"Remember when we were thirteen?" He wasn't going to stop until he got what he wanted. "And we had to do that spring issue and they tried to put you in a bikini?"

"I pitched a fit." I recalled the memory with strong embarrassment but a vague sense of detached amusement. "When they finally got me into it, I ran out of the dressing room and you grabbed me. That was their shot because they were afraid of trying to maneuver me into another pose."

"You told me later that you were embarrassed, but you loved that pink bikini." He paused. "You've never been shy about your body." Shiki ran his fingers through my right pigtail. "So why does one little scar bother you so much?"

"Because there's no solid lie. There's nothing I can say that will make people not wonder." I leaned against him a bit. "It looks like someone stabbed me with a pen and it goes all the way through to my back. How do you think I should explain it?"

"Just say, don't want to talk about it." He held me closer, and ran his fingers through my hair, having untied both of my ribbons. "Or even that you don't remember. There are a lot of things you could say. I don't want to stop you from modeling. I'm sorry I hurt you, Rima."

"_**You**_ didn't hurt me!" We both flinched at that, I hadn't raised my voice in months. "Rido did, ok, Rido did, just drop it. I'm not mad at you and it's not your fault. Drop it, Shiki."

"Rima..." Shiki murmured and a second later I was pressed against his chest, his heartbeat seeping into every pore of my body.

"Drop it, Shiki, I'm sick of hearing false bullshit." I started to relax against him. "Don't say that ever again. It wasn't your fault that he hurt me, ok? I don't blame you and I never did."

"Would you feel better if I were there to lie for you?" Shiki asked, and the switch of topics was so sudden it took me a second to adjust.

"Yes."

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Three days later, I was at the swimsuit shoot, in a green one-piece suit that covered the scars. Shiki was talking animatedly with my photographer for the day.

The lie, you might ask? That I fell on a piece of a broken coat rack. Nobody had pressured for any information after that, which I was sure was because Shiki had told them that I had to go to the hospital in an ambulance after the incident and have stitches, and that I was still traumatized.

It worked well enough, however, and I was glad that I had brought him along.

He would definitely be coming to all of my shoots from now on, whether he was needed for the photos or not.

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Author Note: Geez, this one took forever. I just keep thinking, she's a model, what if there's a scar there? Not that she does playboy or anything. Anyway! I love reviews and PMs, so send me some opinions! Last of all; thank you so much for reading!


	6. I Was

Author Note: Oh, wow I'm on six already. I've really wanted to do this one for a while now, just because it's interesting to me. How did they get where they are today, eating out of each other's hands and such? Well, here we go...

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Vampire Knight or make any profit from this.

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I was ten when I met him.

"Rima, this will be your partner for the shoot." Sakura from wardrobe told me and led me over to a red-haired boy who looked at me with blank eyes.

"What's your name?" I asked him.

"Senri Shiki." He had the voice of someone who had been emotionally broken. His eyes were icicle blue, and he was looking at me as if he wasn't sure whether to eat me or shun me.

"I'm Rima Touya." I sat beside him and pulled a box of pocky from my purse. "Pocky?" I held two sticks of pocky up to his lips in offering.

He gave me that look again, like he wasn't sure what to make of me, and then daintily took the pocky from me with his mouth.

"How'd you get into modeling?" I asked as I nibbled on my piece of Pocky.

"I was scouted while I was with my Mom." Shiki smiled at me a little. He had started to see by now that I was no threat. "She's an actress."

"Nice."

We continued to talk, and by the time we got pulled onto the photo shoot, we had bonded. Shiki no longer looked at me with broken eyes and an eat-her-shun-her-kiss-her-kill-her look. He looked at me with a slight smile, and eyes that had a little bit of sparkle to them.

I was thirteen when I fell in love with him.

It really was all his fault.

"If you had to pick the guy you were going to marry today, who would it be?" He asked as we huddled on my front porch in the twilight.

"What kind of bullshit question is that?" I pulled a box of pocky from my sweatshirt pocket and fed him two sticks. "I mean, who would want to get married at thirteen?"

"You wouldn't have to marry him _now_." Shiki sighed around the pocky. "You just have to pick the person you're going to marry."

"That's stupid." I spat and then felt bad.

But Shiki wasn't hurt. After three years around me, he was used to – and expecting – every mood swing I had.

"I would pick you, Rima." Shiki smiled at me and I froze with a stick of pocky halfway to my mouth. "You're very special to me."

Let me make this clear. At this point I didn't _think_ I was in love with Shiki. At this point I had some feelings for him that I had put on the back burner and was denying heavily, but I didn't think it was love. I was _thirteen_, hell, for all I knew it could've been PMS.

I really had no clue what to say. "Thanks." I said, although I feared that would damage him.

"You're welcome." He said, and flashed me a smile. His full smiles were rare and gone in two seconds flat, but they were gorgeous.

Things slowly began to change after that.

I was 14 when we started going steady.

It started off so innocently. We had been lounging on the couch at my house, eating pocky by the ton and watching old movies. We were in the middle of **_The Breakfast Club_** when Shiki looked at me and said, "John is so damaged. Do you really think Claire should go out with him?"

"He has a good heart." I held three pocky sticks up to his lips. "It's not like he's secretly a mass murderer or anything. I don't see why not. And she's just as messed up in her own way. So to answer you, yeah, they should go for it."

Before I knew it, the pocky was gone from his mouth and he was kissing me... _On the lips_. I was fourteen; I had never had lips on lips contact. All too soon it was over, but now he was looking at me, and I wasn't sure if I had messed up somehow.

"Be my girlfriend?" Shiki asked, his eyes anxious and waiting.

The year before, I would've laughed at a question like this, called it obscene. But I was _fourteen _now, I knew what those feelings were, the very ones that I had mistakenly put on the back burner.

I was in love.

All I could do was nod, and that marked the end of an era. We were together.

I was 15 when we first traded blood.

It had been a hard month for both of us; our growth spurts and stressing about modeling had caused us to need more blood than usual. Our usual victims couldn't handle our needs, and while we tried to find more people to use for blood, we were stuck needing blood and being without it.

"Shiki?" I asked. We were alone in my room at the time, my parents having gone out. Several empty boxes of pocky filled the wastebasket; we had been there a while.

"Hm?" He was sprawled out on my bed, but his eyes shifted to me.

"What would happen if we drank each other's blood?" I shifted so instead of sitting, I was laying next to him, my head on his chest.

"I don't know... would you be ok with that?" Shiki was toying with one of my pigtails.

"My parents do that. Drink each other's blood." I shrugged. We were both tired from lack of blood and on a bit of a sugar rush from all of the pocky we had consumed.

"You want to try it?" Shiki turned me towards him, so I was lying on my side, still on his chest. "You're sure?"

"Yes. Here..." I pulled my ribbons out of my hair and pulled my hair off to the side, offering the freed up side to Shiki.

He inched closer, all the time waiting for me to object, and when I didn't he slowly slid his fangs into my neck.

It hurt a little when his fangs first pricked the skin, but then a strange euphoria set in and I was extremely comfy, no more pain, no nothing.

When he pulled away, I flinched slightly as the two little holes in my neck healed up at hyper speed.

"Are you alright?" Shiki asked, forever worried about me, as he had been for years.

"Mhm." I was vaguely aware that the room was trying to spin, but it didn't bother me. Much.

"Your turn." Shiki pulled me close and gently guided my mouth to his neck.

I tried to be gentle, kissing the spot before I slipped my fangs into his neck. His blood was sweet, not overwhelmingly so, but rich. It only took me a handful of seconds before I pulled away.

"Better?" Shiki worked his hand through my hair and pulled me close.

He had blood on his lips, and so did I. We kissed, and the two kinds mingled.

We were 16 when we broke up.

We were going to go to Cross Academy to be part of the night class – AKA vampire class. Shiki requested to be my roommate, and through a long bout with stupidity, little sleep, and hunger, I just got pissed and said no.

Shiki was accepted into another room, with Takuma Ichijou, and my roommate became Ruka Souen.

Shiki and I were close to turning 17 when we finally got back together.

Shiki had been possessed by his father, Rido Kuran, and Rido had attacked me, mainly because I tried to knock him out of Shiki's body.

As I was resting, Shiki hovered over me all the time. Mumbled apologies and rants were not uncommon. I pretended to be asleep.

When he leaned down to hug me, I couldn't help it, I opened my eyes. "Shiki...?"

"I'll just go." Shiki let go of me quickly and turned to leave. "I shouldn't even be in here."

"No!" I grabbed his hand and pulled him down. "Shiki... I still love you. I'm sorry I freaked out and wouldn't let you be my roommate, that was stupid. Please... forgive me."

Shiki didn't say anything at first. Instead, he stretched out beside me, like we had spent so many nights – and days – at my house. "You shouldn't be stressing while you're hurt."

I cuddled up against him, ignoring the sharp pain in my chest when I did that, and clutched at him.

We were together again after that, and always would be.

We were 16, almost 17, when we found our happy ever after.

* * *

Author Note: Oh geez, this one took forever. I really do like it, but what do you think? I love reviews and PMs about my story! And thank you for reading, of course.


	7. HeartShaped Purse

Author Note: I got new glasses and everything is popping at me. It's a little disturbing. Speaking of disturbing, the song I listened to while writing this is extremely disturbing. Oh! And it's Rima's point of view again.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Vampire Knight or make profit from this.

* * *

My pink heart-shaped purse, the one I took everywhere with me, for years, was a gift.

Can you guess who gave it to me? I bet you can. Shiki gave me that purse, back when we were kids. It was a Valentine's Day gift. Every time I got a little down, or there was a special occasion, something ended up in that purse.

"Something" ranged from pocky to jewelry to new hair ribbons. One time when he was going to ask me on a date, I even found my spaghetti strap black dress folded neatly inside that purse, with a note that said simply _"I'll pick you up on Friday. I suspect you'll wear this?"_

But then came the day Shiki and I were helping each other move into the moon dormitories at Cross Academy. First it was on my shoulder, beaten straps enduring, but then it ended up in a box. By the time Shiki and I had unpacked everything I realized it was missing.

"Shiki have you seen my purse?" I was panicking inside; I hadn't been separated from that purse since I got it.

"I thought you had it." Shiki looked around at the empty boxes.

I flew into a frenzy, tearing apart both my and his room, mumbling to myself the whole time about how it _couldn't _be gone.

"Rima." Shiki grabbed me before I could do any further damage to the moon dorms. "Rima. It was a purse. Stop panicking." He squeezed me against his chest, to the point where I could feel his heartbeat alternating against mine. "It'll turn up."

"What if it doesn't?" I was slowly starting to calm down; it was hard not to calm down when I was so close to Shiki. "That purse has so much history to it..."

"If it doesn't turn up, I'll replace it." Shiki offered, and while I didn't like the idea of it, it was a kind gesture. "I'll find one just like it if that's what it takes to make you happy again."

"I hate myself for losing it..." I murmured into his shirt.

"Don't hate yourself. I'm glad you had it this long." He rubbed my back, held me close, and just kept me there until I calmed down.

Two weeks passed. The purse did not turn up. But exactly fifteen days from the time I had lost it, a box turned up on my bed. I had just gotten out of the shower, and I walked into my room in a black skirt and a hoodie.

Ruka was on her bed, and she eyed me with jealousy. "Are you and Shiki doing it?" She asked.

"What a vulgar question, Ruka," I said and then hit her weakness. "Ladies shouldn't talk like that." I normally wouldn't have said that, Ruka had trouble dealing with her family's outlook, but I was in a foul mood.

Ruka shot me a glare and mumbled "Someone's PMSing huh?"

I looked at the small note taped to the plain cardboard box. It was definitely Shiki's handwriting.

_Good news and bad news. Open the box in the top first for the bad news._

I cautiously opened the box on top. Inside was my old purse, beaten, abused and ripped beyond repair.

"Damn it." I muttered to myself. Ruka was staring at me like I was holding a piece of garbage in my hand so delicately, and in a way I might've been. In that box there was a note, and I unfolded that.

_Now for the good news. Open the other box._

I opened the other box... and pulled out an almost exact replica of the original purse, except this one was a deep red. A note peeked out of the top of it, with a red heart on the front.

"You suck." Ruka said, but she wasn't as angry as the words might convey. I heard her leave as I opened the note.

_I know this one isn't pink, but red is the color of love, and I figured it might convey our feelings for each other now better than any pink one I could find. It is ok, right?_

I dropped both purses and the notes on the bed and ran into Shiki's room. Takuma was still asleep, but he woke up when the door banged into the wall.

"Where's Shiki?" I asked, and my voice sounded foreign to me.

"Downstairs." Takuma yawned. "Are you alright Rima?"

"Fine. Go back to sleep." I walked out, shut the door behind me and then half-fell, half-ran down the stairs.

Shiki was sitting on the couch, and he looked at me as I tripped over the final step. He didn't move, he knew I could right myself.

It was me who ran over to him, threw myself in his lap and alternated between thanking him and kissing him.

When I finally shut up and stopped kissing him, Shiki smiled. "You're happy. I'm glad."

"I'm ecstatic." I cuddled close to him. "I love you."

"I love you too." He held me there, on his lap.

My red heart shaped purse was a gift. And I kept it close to my heart forever.

* * *

Author Note: Nobody should ever take me to Wal-Mart. Anytime I stop moving I get an idea. This was the result of standing in line. As always, I love your reviews and PMs, and I appreciate every read I get. Thank you!


	8. Guardian Angel

Author Note: I really am starting to feel guilty that I have no ShikiXRima project other than these one-shots. I have two RukaXKain projects, and these ShikiXRima one-shots, and that's it. And my string of fiction projects of course, but not counting them. Anyway! This is Shiki's point of view.  
**Disclaimer: **I don't own Vampire Knight or make profit from this.

* * *

I was going to die for something I didn't even do.

When I was supposed to be in class, I was staring down the barrel of Zero Kiryu's bloody rose gun, a gun that would kill me if he shot me with it.

All because of my father.

My father, Rido Kuran, had possessed me, and had bitten a day class girl, nearly killing her. It was all my fault, after all, why didn't he just shoot me and end it already?

"Go ahead, Kiryuu." I prodded. "Pull the trigger. It would end my suffering."

"I should." Zero sighed, but he didn't put the bloody rose away.

"Don't you dare shoot, Zero!" Yuuki Cross's voice came from somewhere in the trees, followed by Rima's.

"Shiki, come here." Rima called, stepping into the moonlight. Her ribbons had been pulled from her hair and tied around her upper arms, something she did when she was extremely nervous.

"Are you going to let me, Kiryuu?" I asked, starting to shift to go to Rima.

Zero slowly turned the safety on the gun and tucked it back into his shirt.

I barely got two steps towards Rima before she tackled me. "Don't ever try to pull a suicide stunt like that again!" Rima was practically in tears, even as she screamed at me. "I swear to God, I will kill you myself, don't ever say you want to die again!"

All I could do was wrap my arms around her and hold her. She wasn't crying, not yet. Rima hadn't cried in public in years, not since she fell off the top bar of the swings at a park and broke her arm. But her left eye was twitching, a sign that she was going to start crying any second, and she was clenching her hands, another sign for the same thing.

"Come on, let's get you inside." I half picked her up, half led her into the moon dorms, then into her room. Lucky for us, Ruka had been sleeping in Kain's room as of lately and we had the room to ourselves.

Tears rolled down Rima's face the second the door was shut.

"I'm sorry I scared you..." I untied the ribbons from her sleeves and set them on her vanity. "I know this whole thing with Rido has been hard on you too."

"I'm _pissed off,_ Shiki." Rima hissed, sounding a lot like a cat when you had stepped on its tail, hurt and angry. "You said you wanted to die. That's not something an apology can cure. I'm _pissed off and worried_."

"I'm sorry, Rima." I sighed and picked her up, laying her down on her bed. "If I was dead, Rido wouldn't have a way to get to you, and you wouldn't get hurt by him again. That's the only reason I wanted to die."

"I'm healed, ok?" She folded her arms over her chest, a defensive measure. "It's not a big deal anymore. I'd much rather give my life so you could live a not-possessed life than have you die."

I lay down beside her, clutching her against me. "How about we both just live as best we can the way things are? I don't want to lose you."

"I don't want to lose you either. You can beat Rido at his own game, so don't tell Kiryuu to pull the trigger." Rima struggled against my arms, and I almost let go of her, but then she relaxed.

"I'm sorry I said that." I was genuinely sorry, mostly because I would've hated leaving Rima in this state without me here to calm her.

"You better be." She cuddled close to me, gazing deeply into my eyes. "Please... Shiki. Just don't leave me. I couldn't take it. All the Rido stuff, I can handle. But if you were really gone... no, just no."

We were silent for several moments. Rima closed her eyes, but tears still streamed down onto the pillow.

"Rima... I'm sorry... I'll never do that again..." I murmured.

I got no response, but then I realized that her tears had stopped falling, and her breathing had evened out.

I lay there with her, thinking about how she had probably just worn herself out. I dried the tears from her face with my sleeve, and then finally just lay there and watched my angel sleep.

* * *

Author Note: Now it's getting late, and I still wanted to do a chapter on Fireplace... Anyway! As usual, I love reviews and PMs, and thank you so much for reading this, it means a lot to me.


	9. Happy

Author Note: I'm in an angst-y mood again. I finished what I was supposed to do for my fiction work (At least for tonight anyway) and I had an idea for a one-shot full of angst. Sorry in advance. Shiki's point of view. Angst warning but fluff in the end.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Vampire Knight or make any profit from this.

* * *

"Will she be alright, Ichijou?" I asked as we leaned over Rima's bed. Rima appeared to be asleep, but it had been a week since the Rido incident, and she hadn't woken up.

"Shiki..." Ichijou sighed and laid his hand on my shoulder. "Being honest... I don't know if she's ever going to wake up. Even with her advanced healing, Rido hit her in the lung... Things are happening to her that mean she might not live..."

I perched myself beside Rima on the bed. As usual, she didn't move. "How can we tell... if she's going to make it?" I asked slowly.

"If she's not awake within the next three or four days... then chances are..." Ichijou shook his head. "I'm sorry, Shiki."

"May I be alone with her?" I tossed a glance at Ichijou, and then turned back to Rima. "Please."

The blonde turned and left, shutting the door behind him.

"Rima..." I held her left hand between both of mine. "I'm so sorry. Please... forgive me... come back to me..."

She still didn't move. I squeezed her hand lightly and just sat beside her, waiting for anything.

I spent most of my next few days and nights beside Rima, waiting. The four-day mark was approaching too fast, and I was getting more nervous than the situation already warranted.

It happened at the end of the four-day mark.

Rima's eyes slowly flicked open. Panic was written in her eyes, and she started to cough. Earlier Ichijou had warned me to keep a basin beside her bed, because if she woke up, she would be coughing up blood for a while.

I handed her the basin and held her hair back as she coughed up mouthful after mouthful of half-solid blood into the bowl.

"Is Rido gone?" Rima asked between coughs.

"I think so." I found a hair tie on her nightstand and tied her hair back. "I'm sorry, Rima... I should've fought harder. You got hurt because I'm an idiot."

"Well, there's no arguing that." She wiped her mouth with a Kleenex. "You are an idiot. But I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at your son of a bitch father." She turned back to the basin, coughing up more blood.

"That makes two of us." I sighed.

Ichijou chose that moment to walk in. "Rima!" He grinned at us. "I was so worried I-"

"She doesn't want to hear it right now." I warned. "But we're all glad that she's going to be ok."

"I hate Rido Kuran." Rima wiped her mouth again with the Kleenex. "I really, _really_ hate him." She looked down at the bowl of half-solid blood. "Ichijou? Any chance you could..."

"Of course!" Ichijou took the bowl of blood and headed for the door. "I've been taking care of you this whole time anyway!" With that he was out the door.

Rima looked down at her nightgown. "You let him change my clothes?" She narrowed her eyes at me.

"No. I did that." I helped her lay back down.

"Thank you..." She closed her eyes halfway, but I could still see her jewel-blue eyes go red with bloodlust.

"Rima, would you like to drink some of my blood?" I asked, putting an arm behind her head to pillow it further.

"Not right now..." She shook her head. "I'm thirsty, but puking would not be fun. After coughing up all of that... just not right now..."

"Ichijou was worried about you." I stated. "He kept forcing blood tablets down your throat trying to help out."

"Were you worried?" Rima shifted her bright red gaze to me. "Were you worried about me, Shiki?"

"More worried than I've ever been about anything." I admitted. "Ichijou wasn't sure if you were even going to live..."

"I'm not such a huge bitch that I would leave you, just because I was pissed off at Rido." She moved slightly, pressing her shoulder into my chest. It hurt a little, but it seemed to comfort her.

"I know." I shifted a bit so I was closer to her, almost curled around her. "I was just worried... that you wouldn't have a choice."

"There's always a choice, Shiki." She grabbed at my shirt, missing the first few times. Finally she established contact and pulled me half over her. "I've made my choice. I want to be with you, always."

I kissed her forehead, glad, above all else, that she was alright.

We slept the rest of the day away, curled up together. And I couldn't have been happier.

* * *

Author Note: As I neared the end of the first page, I was worried they weren't going to get their happy ending. They did, of course, but I was worried for a minute or two. As usual, I love reviews and PMs, and thank you for reading!


	10. Shiki's Illness

Author Note: Ok, here's the thing. In my summary I promised you a lot of non-related Shima one-shots. So. This is not related to my other Shima one-shot where Rima was sick, but it's the flipside of it. Ok? Get it, got it good. This is Rima's point of view again. Shiki is out of character for a reason, thank you. And there is some slight attempts at humor here.

**Disclaimer**: I own zero of these characters or settings from Vampire Knight and I make no profit from this.

* * *

"Shiki, get back in bed. You've got a fever." I tried to shove Shiki back towards his room. "You need rest."

"I'm lonely." Shiki rolled his bottom lip out at me and gave me the rarely used, but always abused, puppy dog pout.

"I'll be in there in a minute." I shoved him into his room and headed for mine. "I just have to get my pajamas and tell Ruka she'll have the room to herself today. Does Takuma want to sleep in my bed since we'll be in his room?"

"Are you cheating on me?" Shiki crossed his arms over his chest. "Because I want to know if there's another man."

"Shiki, for Pete's sake, get in bed before I knock you out." I continued walking to my room, but he came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist.

When Shiki has a fever, he is not himself, as you can clearly tell.

"Shiki!" I gasped as he kissed my neck, and then scraped his fangs across the side, drawing blood. "Shiki, please get into bed. I will let you have some blood willingly, if you get into bed now."

"Fine." Shiki let go of me and stomped back to his room. I heard his bed creak, and I quickly got into my pajamas and then found Ruka.

"You're going to either have the room to yourself or be in here with Takuma, ok?" I asked, and I could tell Ruka was staring at my neck, which hadn't healed yet.

"You two are so damn kinky." She rolled her eyes. "And whatever."

I headed back to Shiki's room, where Takuma was waiting for me. "Shiki said you wanted to ask me if I would sleep with you?" Takuma raised an eyebrow; his whole face was an interesting shade of pink.

"No." I felt a slight blush creeping up my face too. "I wanted to ask if you wanted to sleep in my room, in my bed because I was sleeping in your and Shiki's room, with Shiki."

"I'll sleep in your room if Ruka's ok with it." Takuma said, and then headed off to talk to Ruka.

The sun was coming up outside, light streaming through all of the curtains. I tiptoed into Shiki's room and shut the door behind me.

"C'mere." Shiki murmured. He was half propped up against pillows and he looked exhausted and feverish.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, you want my blood." I crawled into bed next to him and brushed my hair out of the way for him. "Here."

He leaned in close, kissed my neck again, and slowly bit into it. I didn't flinch at the prick of his fangs breaking flesh anymore; we had shared blood too many times for me to do that anymore.

I tangled my right hand in his hair, encouraging him to drink, and gripped his shirt with the other hand. It wasn't that the bloodletting hurt, it was more so that the more he drank, the dizzier I got. It had always been like that; I was just sensitive in that way.

Finally he pulled away, leaning back with me on top of him. He licked at my neck where the bite marks were, until they healed up.

"You ok, Rima?" Shiki asked, sounding more like himself already.

"Just dizzy. It'll pass." I lay my head on his collarbone.

"Do you want to-" He began.

"No." I interrupted. "If I drink your blood, I'll catch whatever you have. I'll just be dizzy for a while, thank you."

"I'm sorry I was so rude earlier..." Shiki was playing with my hair lightly. "I just... can't help it when I'm sick."

"I'm not mad. Your fever is almost gone." I touched his forehead just to be sure. "You'll be better by tonight."

Shiki laughed. "Already convincing me to go to class. That's so you, Rima."

"Go to sleep." I stole one of his pillows and laid it on his chest.

"What, I'm not a good pillow?" Shiki gave me a tired smile.

"No offense, but you're a little bony to be a good pillow." I mashed the pillow around so I wasn't going to suffocate him during the night. "But you are a model too so I guess I should suspect that, huh?"

"I'm sorry I took your blood without asking." He said suddenly. "In the hall."

"I'm not mad." I put my chin on the pillow to stare him in the eyes. "You're tired and sick and you weren't in your right mind. And it was only a little."

"Still. I shouldn't have done that." Shiki maneuvered his arm around me.

"It was just a little embarrassing." I gave Shiki a small smile as the room finally stopped spinning. "Imagine if Aidou had walked up, we never would've heard the end of it. Can't you picture him saying, 'Sex in the hall? Remember to use protection! Can I watch'?"

"True." Shiki squeezed me lightly. "I can't say I'll be smarter about what I do when I'm sick, but I'll try not to get sick from now on."

"I love you, Shiki." I mumbled, even though I was close to falling asleep.

"I love you more." He whispered, and with those words ringing in my ears, I fell asleep.

* * *

Author Note: Wow, way longer than I originally intended. Have to go add to Fireplace now, and then I'll be done here for the day. I think... I never know when an idea storm'll strike me. I love your comments, whether they're in a review or a PM, and of course, thank you for reading!


	11. Heaven And Hell

Author Note: Oh, the odd things I think of when I can't sleep. This was intended to put posted this morning, early, but I ended up falling asleep before I could get up and write it. This is Shiki's point of view.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Vampire Knight and I make no profit from this.

* * *

I was in hell.

"Over here!" Ichijou called as we ran towards the smell of vampire blood. I heard him gasp, and then mumble her name, "Rima..."

Rima and I hadn't seen each other since we were 17, hadn't had much contact since then either, since things hadn't ended well between us. But there she was, lying bloody and broken on the floor of the abandoned building.

"Rima!" I knelt down beside her, afraid to move her. Her eyes shifted to me, but they were glazed over, she was dying, and if we didn't act fast, she would die.

"Shiki, no." Rima whispered through clumsy lips, she knew what I was planning.

"Don't move ok?" I pressed my wrist to her fangs.

"No!" Rima tried to pull away from the blood dripping into her mouth.

"Rima, shut up and do it." I pressed my wrist harder onto her fangs, and finally she gave in and drank. Ichijou stood off to the side, waiting for when he was needed.

After several minutes, Rima removed her fangs from my wrist and then shot me a glare that could kill the worst of them.

"I hate you." She hissed, but her wounds were already healing.

"I know you do." I pulled my wrist back and nodded at Ichijou, who scooped Rima up.

"Takuma..." Rima whispered and cuddled close to him. I felt a pinch of jealousy in my chest, but I knew both that her love for Ichijou was platonic, and my fault.

Rima caught me looking at her and shot me another burn-in-hell glare.

We ended up at my house, and Takuma tucked Rima into a guest bed, muttered something and ran out, leaving us alone.

"I hate you." Rima whimpered, seemingly afraid of me now that we were alone.

"I know you do." I leaned down and kissed her forehead. "But I could never hate you."

She whimpered again and I wondered why I bothered telling her when it only hurt her more.

"You were scared, Shiki, I get that." Rima sat up, in defensive mode though it made her flinch in pain. "You were scared of Rido hurting me again, I understand that, ok? But we could've worked it out. I wasn't scared, I was hurt when you dumped me." She lay back down and on her side, facing away from me.

"Who attacked you?" I asked, since I didn't want to continue our previous conversation.

"Some level E, I killed it. Talk to me, Shiki, make it make sense to me." She risked a glance at me and we locked eyes. "I hate you." Rima added in a small voice that would've been better suited for a nervous _I love you._

"I know." I swallowed the lump in my throat. "I'm sorry."

There was silence for a moment.

"No." Rima shook her head hard, her bloodied pigtails flopping all over. "I _still_ hate you, Shiki."

I sighed and moved away from her. "You don't have to rub it in, Rima, I know exactly how much you hate me. "

"No!" Rima growled, a low, frustrated noise. "Damn it, get over here." When I reluctantly moved closer, she grabbed me and kissed me.

Suddenly we were rolling around in the bed, kissing and holding each other, tangled in the sheets.

In a short break between kisses, Rima whispered, "I love you, you idiot. It's hard to say now... but..." And then she leaned in again and we were kissing and it was heaven.

* * *

Author Note: This would've been up sooner, but it was storming horribly and I had to get off the computer. As usual, I love every read, review and PM!


	12. Love Matters

Author Note: If I can finish this without the power going out, I'll go work on "Children" again, because I know you guys like that one. This is Rima's point of view.

Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Knight, and I make absolutely no profit from this.

* * *

I clicked my cell phone shut and took a deep breath. My Father was dead, so why wasn't I crying?

Shiki poked his head into my room and asked, "You ok, Rima?"

I hadn't told him, not yet. But he knew things about me, without even trying.

"Shh, Ruka's sleeping." I pointed to the lump of blankets that was my roommate, Ruka Souen, who had a bad cold. I walked out to Shiki and shut the door quietly, then hugged him tightly.

"What happened?" Shiki couldn't seem to pinpoint my distress, but he knew it was something.

"My father died." I looked up at him, but there were still no tears for me. "Why aren't I crying?"

"It hasn't set in yet." Shiki pulled me in closer, so we were pressed up tight against each other.

"I should be bawling my eyes out... that was my father..." I leaned my face against Shiki's shoulder. "I feel like an ass."

"You're not. That would be Aidou." Shiki kissed my forehead, rubbing my back and humming softly.

"Where's Takuma? Can we go to your room?" I didn't wait for an answer; I wanted instant comfort. I reached up and knotted my hand in Shiki's hair, pulling him down and kissing him hard.

The next thing I knew, we heard Aidou scream, "Hey everyone! Shiki and Rima are having clothed sex in the hallway!"

Shiki and I both pulled away at the exact same second, and glared daggers at Aidou, who took off running.

"You're crying now." Shiki touched my face and his hand came away wet with tears.

"Great. That probably scared him off. Not." I pressed my face into Shiki's shirt, embarrassed and finally upset.

We ended up in Shiki's room, Takuma was out, and I paced, tears unable to stop flowing from my eyes.

"Rima, you look like you're about to kill someone." Shiki patted the bed beside him. "Sit down with me."

"I feel like shit." I muttered as I pounced on Shiki, knocking him back onto the bed. "I hate this... why him?"

"Now we're into anger." Shiki sighed and held me close again. "People die. It happens. Are you going to tell me what happened?"

"He had a heart attack." I pressed my face into his shirt, which was already sopping wet with my tears. "They couldn't revive him."

"It'll be alright... eventually." Shiki kissed my nose, trying to coerce a smile out of me.

I knew, that even if I had no one else, I had Shiki, and that was what mattered.

* * *

Author Note: The storm is starting now, so I have to go. I love reviews and thank you for reading!


	13. Courage

Prompt: Panic attack

Author Note: I realize I've been neglecting my loyal fans, and I'm sorry. I'm incredibly busy writing a four-part fiction project, and my life has been revolving around that. I can't have a huge fanfiction project right now, but I figured you guys could go for a one-shot.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Knight. Period. I make absolutely no profit from this.**

* * *

"Rima, you look like hell." Senri looked at me with eyes gone wide and somewhat scared. I hadn't seen him like that before, at least not looking at me.

"It's been a bad week." I threw my suitcase on the floor and took a step towards him. In the process, I got a good look in a nearby mirror. My hair was down, I had dark circles under my eyes, and my bottom lip was cracked and coated in dried blood where I had bitten it open. Repeatedly. In short, I looked like death on toast.

"What the hell happened to you on that job?" Senri pulled me against his chest, and I quickly became aware of exactly how frail I felt, both physically and emotionally. I had lost weight on that modeling job, and unshed tears had built up somewhere in my chest cavity.

"Two of our girls kept fighting on the job... and the whole thing was just downhill from there." I didn't – I couldn't – elaborate, not at the moment.

Luckily Senri didn't push for more information. He pulled me against him, held me close and whispered; "You don't have to model anymore if you don't want to, Rima..."

"They expect me to." I felt the tears press at me, a tide that heightened with every night. "I don't want to disappoint them... but I can't do it anymore..." The sobs caught in my throat, but I choked them back down. I was not a crier; I hadn't been since I was a little kid. I refused to let the tears fall yet. "I can't do this anymore, Senri... I just can't... it's gotten to the point where everything is just too much... I just..." The sob clawed it's way out of my throat and I dissolved into a teary mess. Pain struck me in the chest and I fell to the floor, accidentally pulling my boyfriend with me as well.

"No one should expect you to do something that you can't handle anymore." Senri pulled me onto his lap, squeezing me just hard enough that I had to relax into his grip. The pain in my chest was making it hard to breathe, but when I let my body flop into relaxing against him, it almost disappeared.

"My parents... you don't understand my parents." I pressed my face into his shirt; he smelled of Downy and AXE body spray. The very combination reminded me of exactly how safe I was here. "I was the golden child... they'll think less of me... if... if I stop modeling..."

"Then their opinion doesn't count does it?" He moved so his back was against the baseboard of the bed and I was closer to him. "They should always want you to be happy, you're their daughter, not their pawn. If you can't handle the modeling anymore, if you want to stop, then it's your choice. They shouldn't want you to do something that's destroying you like this. You should be _happy_, Rima, whatever it takes. _Happy_."

"I'm scared... of what will happen when I tell them." I forced myself not to bite down on my own words. I hated being vulnerable, and I could barely be around Senri, even though he was the person I was closest to in the whole world.

"I'll be with you." Senri rubbed his face against mine, the way a cat might. "I'll always be with you, I promise."

"Thank you..." I murmured and tucked my face back against his chest.

That was how I got up the courage to tell my parents I was quitting modeling.

* * *

Author Note: I guess I thought this was short but I have really pudgy paragraphs in this one. There's going to be one more of these over here tonight, and I'll try to do a Rukain for you guys, but I have to start the third part of my fiction project too. On a quick note, I'm trying to learn to call the Vampire Knight guys by their first names, that's why she called him Senri. Thank you for reading, and leave a comment if you can; I love opinions on my stories.


	14. Perfect Distance

Prompt: The first time Shiki and Rima shared a bed.

Author Note: This one was actually in my head for a couple nights, but I was so intent on finishing part two of my fiction project that I didn't want to write it. I really hate not writing fanfiction, but my original characters are my babies. That sounded weird.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Vampire Knight and I make no profit from this.

* * *

We were 12, an age of innocence, big talk, and getting away with a lot more than you can when you're 13.

"Shiki!" I tackled him before he could make it to the door to leave. "It's light out, you're not going anywhere. You'll get sunburned."

"I have to go home, get some sleep." Shiki yawned to emphasize how tired he was. "We have a modeling job later today, we both need sleep."

"Our photographer will be mad if you get sunburned." I protested. "Stay here."

Shiki eyed me with suspicion. We had known each other a year and a half, and although we had bonded, he still acted as if I was going to stab him in the back half the time.

"Oh, it's not that big a deal." I rolled my eyes. "For Pete's sake, you're acting like I asked you to run out and around town screaming that you're a vampire. Sleeping over is not a big deal, you act like I'm going to jump your bones while you're sleeping."

Shiki raised an eyebrow at me.

"I'm not a whore." I rolled my eyes again, and then narrowed them at him. "You think so little of me sometimes. Even if you slept in my bed for some reason, I wouldn't sexually attack you."

"Can I?" Shiki took a step away from the door, towards me. I was winning one battle, while it appeared I was losing the other. "Can I sleep with you?" Looking back, I wonder if his choice of words was intentional or innocent. I may never know.

"If you want." I took a step backwards, towards my room. "So are you coming or am I doing a photo-shoot with a lobster-red you today?"

Shiki stood, debating for a moment. Then he followed me up to my room.

I changed into my pajamas at the time, a pair of silk nightclothes that my parents had forced me to wear since we often had my agent come to the door at all hours of the day. My agent bothered me during the day frequently, and my parents hated that I used to come to the door in a pair of ratty sweatpants and an old t-shirt.

"Rima, are you almost ready for bed?" Shiki called from my room. I had changed in my bathroom, for various reasons. As I peeked back into my room, I saw Shiki curled up under the blankets, just his forehead and messy blood-red hair peeking out.

"Are you even still awake?" I pulled the covers away from him and realized his face was bright red. He was _embarrassed_. "What's wrong with you?"

"I shouldn't have asked to be in here..." Shiki looked away. "Your parents would be mad if they knew."

"Not if we're not doing anything." I crawled under the covers next to him so we were nose to nose. "If we're not doing anything, they have nothing to be mad about." I stroked his hair. "Just go to sleep, Shiki, you're tired..."

I began to hum a lullaby, one I hadn't heard in years, and Shiki's eyes drifted closed. I watched him for a moment, then closed my eyes too, and let sleep take me away.

We slept just like that, nose to nose, our lips so close. But even in our sleep, neither of us moved closer or further away. We slept just the perfect distance, just the perfect way.

* * *

Author Note: I was trying to sleep the other night and had this idea in my head. I'm off to do a Rukain one-shot for "Fireplace" now, and then I must head off to my fiction-land again. Drop me a review if you wish, I love your opinions.


	15. Losyophobia

Author Note: I need to be done with this in less than an hour, I just had the world's worst nosebleed, and I'm out of it. So far, not a good night. Rima's point of view because I did one third person tonight and I'm not good at it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Knight. I make no profit from this.

* * *

Senri Shiki has had a lot of fears throughout his life. He has only divulged most of them to me, I was his secret keeper and still am.

His first fear was gelotophobia, he was afraid of being laughed at. Not that anyone else had a clue about this one, especially with his "I don't care" attitude. I was the only one who knew about this one, and I've never told a soul. I still won't.

When we were 9, after he got a particularly bad sunburn, he had heliophobia – fear of sunlight, for a while. He got over that one pretty quickly, but he still doesn't enjoy sunny days. Then again, most vampires don't.

When we were thirteen, and his mother ended up in the psych ward, he acquired nosocomephobia, or a fear of hospitals, understandably so. He's over this one, at least.

Last year, Shiki had a fear of failure, and the technical name for that one is Atychiphobia. He was scared of failing me, of failing his mother, of failing himself. He never got over that one completely, but it's gotten better somewhat.

"Shiki?" I roll over so I'm turned towards him instead of spooned against him in his arms. it's early evening, but we'll have to get up soon anyway.

"Yes?" He looks at me, waiting. "What is it, Rima?"

"What are you afraid of today?" I move up a little so we're nose to nose.

"I'll admit... I have a fear I never told you about." He squeezes me gently, tapping his fingers lightly on my back in such a way that it tickles, even through my shirt. I'm forced to cuddle closer to him.

"Are you going to tell me now?" I slapped at his hands lightly. "I'm not mad, but if you keep doing that I will get mad."

"Sorry." Shiki moves his hands up to my shoulderblades, squishing me against him. "It's losyophobia."

I try not to spit out what would be my immediate answer to anyone else, _that's not a real phobia. _Instead I ask, "Mm. What is that a fear of?"

"Losing you." He mumbles.

"Oh Senri..." I murmur, blinking in surprise. Why would he ever believe he was going to lose me?

"You never use my first name." He comments.

"It seemed appropriate." I huff. "You're never going to lose me. that's such an irrational fear."

"It's a possibility." Shiki leans in, tipping his head to side like he might kiss me. "Everything's a possibility, Rima."

"You know what I think is a possibility?" I smirk, because by now, he should know better than to tempt me. I lean in that last little bit and kiss him. When he opens his mouth to mine, I run my tongue along his right fang, letting it bleed in his mouth until it heals up.

Shiki may have a fear of being laughed at, but I will never laugh at him. I will never drag him into sunlight or a hospital, and he will never fail me or lose me.

I know these all very well.

* * *

Author Note: My prompt was "Atychiphobia – fear of failure" I was really wondering how I could incorporate that, but I like how it turned out. Eh, it's your opinion that counts. As for the kiss scene, it sucks, I know. I'm not good at kiss scenes. Sorry. Losyophobia is not a real phobia, but the rest of them are. Drop me a comment if you like, I enjoy being told what people liked/hated.


	16. Right Thing

Author Note: It is so late as I type this... I'm hoping I don't fall asleep at my desk before I get these two one-shots for me collections done. Again, I already fell asleep when working on Rainwater. In other words, if you see a typo, tell me. This is a less strong version of ShikiXRima, focusing more on how they react to each other than anything else.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Vampire Knight, and I make no profit from this.

* * *

"Senri Shiki, you will tell me what happened." Rima dabbed at the cut on Senri's face, the cut that hadn't healed in nearly forty-five minutes. Senri said nothing; he just sat stock-still as she put pressure on the cut. "It was your Mom, wasn't it?"

No response, no response, brief nod.

"Why was she mad at you?" Rima was considering taking him to the hospital, at this point, because between the unchanging cut, and the silence, she was thinking he had to be damaged pretty badly.

No response, no response, shrug.

"Right." Rima hissed, sounding like a cat. "Like you don't know?" Her temper was getting the best of her, but it was only because of her nerves.

No response, no response, dirty look.

"Senri, honestly, you tell me everything." Rima took the gauze off the cut. Did it look smaller? She couldn't be sure. "What could she have said or done that is so terrible you can't tell me?"

"She said I shouldn't be going out with a slut." Senri's voice startled Rima, and the redheaded boy instantly got a look over him, like he hadn't meant to say that out loud.

"Mm, the old slut card." Rima was unfazed, after all, Miss Shiki had never thought highly of her, why be shocked at this development? "Is that all?"

"She said that you've probably slept with every boy in town." Senri touched his face where the cut was beginning to heal.

"That's a little hard to believe, especially since _we_ even haven't had sex." Rima pushed the boy's hand away and applied pressure to the cut again. "And since I'm a virgin. What'd she throw?"

"Plate." Senri reached up and touched her hair. "Why is your hair down?"

"Because Ruka wanted to play with it." Rima pulled the gauze off of Senri's cheek again and squeezed a piece of glass from the cut, setting it aside. "You get her all squared away before you left or do you need to call someone?"

"She's fine." The boy's gaze drifted to Rima's eye that was bruised. "What happened to your eye?"

"There was a brawl between Ruka and Hanabusa." Rima gave the now healing cut an appraising look. "Akatsuki wasn't here so I broke it up. My agent was pissed though, as you can imagine."

"Yeah..." Senri sighed. "I was thinking about putting Mom in a psych ward..."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Rima threw the gauze away and ran her finger across the spot where the cut had been. "She can't take care of herself and she's hurting her servants and you."

"It just... doesn't seem like a son thing to do." Senri pulled Rima down onto his lap. "Doesn't it seem overly cruel to you?"

"Not if you put her in a nice cushy one." Rima turned sideways on her boyfriend's lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. "If you put her in a nice one, it would be like a spa, just with medications and padded walls."

"Maybe you're right..." Senri squeezed her closer. "You're sure it's not a cruel thing to do?"

"How would you feel if she killed herself tomorrow because no one was making sure she didn't?" Rima felt horrible saying that, but it was the cold hard truth.

"You have a point..." The maroon-haired boy lay back on his bed and held her against him.

"You can't be there every minute, Senri." Rima leaned her face against his neck, feeling his pulse under his skin. "And if her servants can't even keep an eye on her, someone's going to have to. You know how she is."

Senri couldn't help but think of his precious Mom, with her uncombed hair and worn-out, tired-of-life look. Someone had to watch her...

"Alright, you win." He kissed Rima briefly. "She should go somewhere where they can watch her."

"I know you love her." Rima gave him a small smile. "She's your Mom, and you're doing the right thing for her."

"Yeah." Senri mused. "The right thing."

* * *

Author Note: I think I started to fall asleep somewhere around the end of page one. I just have to go write up and add to Fireplace and then I can go to bed. Anyway, drop me a comment if you like, I love to hear from you!


	17. Modeling Gig

Author Note: First of all, a shout out and a big thank you to hakuria hitsugaya, whose reviews made the panic recede long enough for me to start writing this. Just a real quick update if you haven't checked my profile lately, my panic attacks have returned, and fanfiction seems to bring them on sometimes, so I've been avoiding doing any work in fanfiction. I'm hoping to find a balance enough to get all my projects going again on a regular schedule, but I don't know yet... And this is Rima's point of view. I also apologize for the long author note.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Vampire Knight, and I make no profit from this.

* * *

It was our first modeling shoot together.

Shiki and I were 9, though we had known each other for years, but we had been kept separate in our modeling jobs. Now, in a shoot for winter-wear, we had been put together.

I had been put in a parka, a parka for God's sake; when the heating was cranked up to heaven knows how many degrees. I felt like I was dying, but I didn't complain. Shiki was always the one to speak out first when I had a complaint; I never said a word until he did.

"Rima's overheating." Shiki shot the words at the photographer like a barrage of bullets. They said _if she dies, I will kill you single-handedly. _He was always my protector.

"We'll be done in two minutes." The photographer for the day, Ogun Kieross was ruthless. "Act like you're making snowballs."

Shiki shot him a glare, then looked at me with worried eyes. We both bent down and scooped up the fake snow as if we were going to make snowballs with it.

Black began to encroach on my vision, but I blinked it back as best I could. The camera stopped clicking, and I heard Ogun call out "we're done!" but the dark had tunneled my vision. I looked at Shiki with fear in my eyes.

"Rima!" He dove across the piles of white plastic snow and grabbed me right before I passed out.

When I woke up, I could hear my Mother ripping the photographer a new one, the whir of a fan, and next to me, soft breathing.

I opened my eyes and turned toward the breathing. I realized vaguely that I had been stripped down to my undershirt and jeans, but I didn't care.

Shiki lay next to me, his arms around me. "I'm so glad you're ok, Rima..." He kissed my forehead gently. "I was so worried about you..."

Outside that room, my Mother's yelling reached a fever pitch. Neither Shiki nor I was fazed by it, my Mother rarely got mad, but when she did, someone better watch their back. In this case, it was Ogun.

"You kissed me..." I murmured, and shivered. The fan had cooled me off effectively, but now it was just freezing me to death.

"I was worried." Shiki mumbled, a blush rising on his cheeks.

"That's not why you kiss someone." I pressed myself into his arms, trying to get away from the wind of the fan.

"Well... um..." Shiki's blush went from pink to a shade similar to a scarlet rose. "Yeah... I just..." He met my eyes after several minutes. "You know, don't you Rima?"

"I like you too, Shiki..." I finally reached out and fumbled with the fan until I was able to turn it off. "But... 9-year-olds shouldn't date... I think... we need to wait until we're older."

"Ok." Shiki's lips pulled into a soft smile and he hugged me close.

"Rima," Mom addressed me as she entered the room. "Senri, both of you get your things together."

"You don't have to take me home, Mrs. Touya..." Shiki didn't let go of me though, even as he sat up on our little couch.

"I'm getting you two out of here before that as-" Mom swallowed that word and tried again, but Shiki and I both knew what she had been about to say. "Before that jerk endangers your lives again. Come on, Rima where's your shirt?"

Funny how, if she had asked me that 7 years later, it would've been much less than friendly.

I pulled my black t-shirt on over my tank top and followed Mom out, with Shiki by my side.

It was our first photo-shoot, and though it had disastrous results, it was still the first of many, and many more still to come.

* * *

Author Note: It's short, I know, and I'm sorry. But I am trying to start writing fanfiction again, I promise. I'll try not to pull another disappearing act. Thank you again, to hakuria hitsugaya for throwing me the rope to get out of my slump. On another note, drop me a comment if you like, I love hearing from my readers.


	18. Second Kiss

Author Note: As I said on another of my fics, I pulled another disappearing act, and I am sorry. But I basically haven't had a computer for the last – geez, nearly a week – so I haven't had a chance to type anything up. Sorry. The lovely PetiteShima inspired this, and her story Bring Me To Life also played a hand at inspiring this. If you like ShikiXRima, you need to read that. Trust me. PetiteShima, this one's for you and I hope you like it! This is Rima's point of view.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Vampire Knight and I make no profit from this.

* * *

"It's going to rain." I mumbled as I laid my head on Senri's chest. We were 13, stretched out in my family's backyard/gardens in the dead of the night, and for three hours we hadn't said a word to each other.

"Yeah." Senri pulled my ribbons from my hair and ran his fingers through my orange locks. "We should go inside. I don't want you to catch a cold if we get rained on."

"I'm not the wicked witch of the west, I won't melt if I get wet." I argued, my temper rising in my throat like hot air. "I'm not going to die if I get wet or anything."

"Rima." Senri tried to turn my face towards him, but my temper got the best of me, and I turned my face away, pretending he didn't have my attention. "Rima." He stretched my name out into a handful of syllables. "Rima Touya, look at me."

Just when he thought he was losing, I pinned him to the ground and kissed him.

And then it began to pour like nobody's business.

We both attempted to get up at the same time, which resulted in us being a tangle of limbs on the ground. Luckily, it wasn't muddy yet.

"C'mon!" I tried to sound aggravated as we made a run for the patio doors, hand in hand, but I was laughing too hard to be mad.

Five minutes later, we were sitting on the floor of the grand bathroom, trying to dry off. We were still laughing when Mom peeked her head into the room and raised an eyebrow.

"What's so funny, Rima?" She wasn't mad; she was never mad, just curious. "You two are completely soaked..."

"We're working on that, Mrs. Touya." Senri gave her a small smile and continued drying him – and his clothes – off.

"Right." Mom eyed us for a minute and then went on her way, humming to herself.

"So..." Senri began slowly, and I looked at him.

I was in the process of toweling off my hair, but I looked at him. "Hm?"

"Technically, that was our first kiss." Senri blushed, he hated when he sounded feminine. He always thought of mentioning sentimental things – like a first kiss – was something only girls did. Well, he just proved himself wrong.

I thought back for a moment, pausing with the towel hanging over my head. Sure, we had been together since we were 12, but neither of us had been brave enough to kiss the other on the lips. Lips, noses, cheeks and foreheads were all fair game, but neither of us had kissed the other on the lips.

"It was." I blinked back surprise, trying to keep it off my face.

"So..." Senri got a little smirk to him. "What about a second?"

* * *

Author Note: This one is so short. I just wanted to add for everyone who has this on alerts, because I felt bad I pulled another disappearing act right after I promised never again... Anyway, will you drop me a comment? I love hearing from you people! Thank you for reading!


	19. Trusting You

A/N: If you didn't read the latest chapter of Fireplace, I'll update you real quick. Things have been crazy and I haven't been writing. Period. I am sorry. The timeline is a little off, but I figure there was some time in between losing Rido and losing her mind for Ms. Shiki. Now, onto the disclaimer.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Vampire Knight, and I make no profit at all from this.

* * *

Rima was 11 when she decided to run away.

She packed some blood tablets, sunscreen in case she couldn't find a place to hide in the day, and her favorite stuffed animal, her bunny.

As she was walking out the door, she heard her parentals fighting for the third time that night, something that had become a staple, a constant. She walked down the street, unafraid, just wanting to get away from the screaming. She made it four blocks over before someone caught her.

"Little girls shouldn't be out during the night." The words were the kind Rima would've expected from some perverted old bastard, but the voice was that of a boy, young, maybe her age. She raised a palm, ready to use her electric shock power if the need arose. Still, she took a guess.

"Neither should little boys." She took a stab in the dark and turned to look, to see if she had gotten it right. She had, the boy was 11 or 12, guessing by his height and weight. He had blood red hair, ice blue eyes, and a paled expression, like all his emotions had been washed out.

"What's your name?" The doll-like boy asked, looking at her strangely. "And why are you alone?"

"Rima Touya." Rima stood straight, trying to look like a lady, though her short stature and her now-limp pigtails did little for that. "What's yours?"

"Senri Shiki..." The boy looked like he might run, and he kept glancing down the street.

"Do you have somewhere you need to be?" Rima tipped her head to the side, only succeeding in looking less mature. "I won't keep you, Senri."

The boy's ears reddened. "My Mother is shooting a scene down the street, she just told me not to go far, that's all."

Rima nodded; unfazed by the fact that Senri's mother was an actress. "I'll walk you back if you want, I'm running away after all."

"Hm." Senri raised an eyebrow. "You're running away? Why?"

"My parents are always fighting." Rima heaved a sigh. "I'm sick of their yelling and I wish they'd just get a divorce already."

"You shouldn't wish that." Senri shook his head. "My parents separated as soon as my Mom found out she was pregnant with me, and I wish I had a Dad."

Rima studied him for a moment, feeling bad for the kid who had never had a family. "Fine, _maybe _I won't run away. But I want to come hang out with you."

Senri's lips twitched at the corners, like he wanted to smile. "Fine." He repeated, and beckoned her closer. "Come here."

Rima blinked in confusion, then walked over to him. Then it was Senri's turn to look confused as Rima stopped so close to him that their noses were touching.

"Did you think I'd be afraid?" Rima murmured; she could read him like a book. "Because, honestly, you're not the least bit scary."

"If you knew me, you would be scared." Senri whispered.

"I really doubt that. I'm not scared of anything." Rima bounced up on her toes and smirked at him. But instead of asserting her power over him, she fell forward, knocking them both onto the sidewalk.

"Klutz." Senri laughed, and that sudden jolt of emotion shocked Rima. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, _I'm_ fine." Rima sat off to Senri's side. "But _you're_ bleeding."

Senri examined his hand, which was, indeed, scraped and bloody. His eyes widened as a thread of blood escaped, turning into the blood whip he had inherited from his father, and wrapped around the two of them, binding them together.

"Let me guess," Rima mumbled from where she was pressed into his shirt. She was pretending to be annoyed, but secretly, in her 11-year-old way, she was enjoying it. Senri Shiki smelled like soap and grass, which as far as she could tell had to be the best combination ever. "Your noble power?"

"Yeah..." Senri scowled at the blood whip that bound them together. "I don't have a handle on it yet."

Rima gave in, no longer feigning annoyance. "It's ok. It's kind of nice to be this close to someone."

Senri's lips twitched again, but this time they stayed up. "When I figure out how to get rid of this blood rope, want me to walk you home?"

"No." Rima squirmed against the blood rope. "I want to hang out with you, I don't want to go home yet."

"Well, I think we're going to be here a while." Senri tugged on his palm from whence the blood whip had come, but it was no use.

"Senri!" a female voice called. Senri turned in time to see his Mother running down the sidewalk.

"Sorry, Mom, I'm a little tied up here..." Senri muttered.

"Literally." Rima added with a tiny giggle.

"Here..." Senri's Mother tapped Senri's palm by the scrape, and the blood whip sucked back into Senri's palm. "Now, who's your friend, Senri?"

"This is Rima Touya, Mom." Senri smiled at Rima, who smiled back. "She wants to run away because her parents won't stop fighting. Will you talk to them?"

"Of course." Ms. Shiki looked to Rima, who was repeatedly mouthing; _I will kill you _to Senri. "Sweetheart, where do you live?"

"A few blocks over, you don't have to Ms. Shiki." Rima tried for nonchalant, what came out was _please don't do this._

"No child should have to live in conditions where they want to run away." Ms. Shiki smiled at Rima. "Come on, show me where."

A reluctant Rima led Senri and his mother to her home, where the screaming could still be heard. Senri held Rima's hand as the three of them walked inside.

"Will you two stop fighting?" Ms. Shiki yelled overtop of the Touya parents.

Rima initiated a deathgrip on Senri's hand, but Senri didn't care.

"Now, before you turn on me, listen." Ms. Shiki added. "Your child tried to run away, she thinks it's so horrible here. If you two love each other enough to have such a beautiful little daughter, and to raise her enough to be as kind as she is, then you can work things out in a civil manner."

Rima moved closer to Senri, so they were hip to hip.

"Screaming is not appropriate when you're making life horrible for a child. A _child. _This girl is your responsibility, and she doesn't want to be here."

Senri slipped his arm around Rima's shoulders as she started to shake.

"I suggest you work it out on a lower tone and a domestic level." Ms. Shiki concluded, but she didn't leave.

The Touya parents were staring in shock, not at Ms. Shiki, but at their perfect doll daughter sobbing uncontrollably in Senri's arms. They knew they had done it now, because Rima hadn't cried since infanthood.

"Sweetie... I-" Mrs. Touya began.

"I don't want to hear it!" Rima scrubbed her eyes with her sleeve and dragged Senri up to her room, leaving the parents to talk.

"Don't cry Rima," Senri whispered as he tucked her in. "It'll all be ok. My Mom will make everything ok with your parents again." He lay on top of the blankets next to her.

Rima snuggled close to him, breathing in his scent. "I'm trusting you."

"Good." Senri whispered.

They fell asleep like that, cuddled close together, and Rima has trusted Senri ever since.

* * *

Author Note: Yes, it does end up longer if I have an idea to start with (For reference see Don't Tell of Fireplace). Anyway, I still have my other one-shot collection to do, the Suika one, and then Second Chances, so I'll be answering reviews; drop me a review if you want to. Thank you for reading.


	20. Secrets and Fears

Author Note: This will be the last thing I add to tonight. Instead of adding to everything in a night like I have been doing, I'm adding to whatever, whenever, because it's easier on me. This was inspired by a chapter of "Bring Me To Life" by PetiteShima, so this is dedicated to her and I hope she likes it! Also, you should read "Bring Me To Life" because it's honestly one of the best ShikiXRima stories I've read, ever. Thank you for reading my author note and this is Rima's point of view.

Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Knight and I make no profit from this.

* * *

Sometimes, there are secrets so horrific that you can't tell anyone, not even those you trust the most. Sometimes you're terrified of what they'll say, or if they'll drop you like a hot potato. Sometimes you hold everything inside, because as horrifying as that secret is, you're terrified to let it out for fear it could hurt someone just as much.

Lightning came down all around me. I was 6 years old again, and it was storming like nobody's business, and that was only drawing the electric shock powers that I had only recently acquired, out more. I had no control, and I knew someone would get hurt.

A woman, looking about the same age as my mother, ran out and tried to scoop me up, but I ran. My feet in the little pink sandals I had gotten at a modeling job pounded the soft dirt. The white-blue lightning shot from my palms, and I felt hot tears leaking from my eyes mix with the cold needles of rain.

The woman made another grab for me, yelling that I shouldn't be out here alone in the rain, that I was going to get sick. My panic that she would get hurt only made my powers rage more, and created a self-fulfilling prophecy.

A bolt of lightning shot from my hand, it was as thick as my arm and so bright that it hurt my eyes, and struck the woman in the chest.

I screamed as she fell backwards, eyes glazed over. I crawled into a nearby wooden shed and screamed and cried, unable to control my fear or my powers.

"Rima!" My eyes snap open at my husband's voice. Senri is holding me against his chest, unafraid, just worried.

"I'm sorry." I try not to let my voice shake, but I can't control it. "Oh, God, Senri, I must've scared you, I'm sorry."

"You're going to have to tell me what the nightmares are about." Senri doesn't let go of me, despite that he looks tired and the alarm clock reads 1PM. "We're married. We're supposed to share our burdens."

"You need sleep." I shove at his chest gently, but his hold on me is firm. He's waiting for me to tell him what the nightmare was about. "Please, don't make me..." I can't hold back the whimper that accompanies that sentence.

Senri pulls me closer, crushing me against his chest. He hates seeing me like this; I've never acted the way I do when I've had a nightmare. Cool and collected, that's me, but after a nightmare I'm frayed at the edges, like I can't hold myself together even if I try.

"There's still things you don't know about me." I whisper and wrap my arms around his neck. "There's horrible, horrible things in my past that I don't know what you'd do if I told you."

"Rima, I'm never going to leave you over something you did in the past." Senri's gaze slips down to my nightgown-clad chest for a moment, but it's not a perverted motion. It stands for how I wasn't mad at Senri when his father's blood whip injured me, when he took over Senri's body. It stands for every stupid thing we've ever done to each other, but how we always got through it.

"I killed a woman." I blurt out, but Senri's expression is still carefully neutral. "I was 6, and she was my human neighbor. There was a thunderstorm and I accidentally shocked her so badly that her heart just stopped." The floodgates in my eyes open up and I'm crying. I hate crying, I've never been a wussy girl who cries to get what she wants and it's not a tool to me. When I cry, something is terribly wrong.

"It was an accident." Senri runs his fingers through my hair, a desperate attempt to calm me. "You were young, and you couldn't control it. You would never kill someone innocent on purpose. It was an accident, Rima. You didn't mean to." With that said, he brushes my hair away from my left ear and leans in to whisper those magic words that I've said to him so many times before. "You need to love yourself more." He goes on though, adding his own twist to my saying. "You need to forgive yourself, because I'll never be angry about something you didn't mean to do. Bad things happen, and I've come to understand that. Don't be scared, Rima, I'm not going to leave you, not now, not ever."

He holds me against him, so close that I can feel his heartbeat.

I wipe my eyes; take a few deep breaths and then whisper, "Thank you. I love you."

"I love you too." Senri lies back, holding me close. "I'll always love you, no matter what you did or didn't do."

I let myself drift off with those words afloat in my mind.

* * *

Author Note: Not to toot my own horn, but I really like this one. The first paragraph is something that I've learned over time, about secrets and fears. When you find someone special enough that you can share your fears and secrets with them, they'll understand. Anyway, enough psychobabble. Will you drop me a comment? I love to hear from you, my readers, and thank you so much for reading!


	21. Stay

Author Note: This will be the last add tonight, but I think I should be updating more often after this. It gets easier after you put the huge story on indefinite hiatus. Anyway, this is in 3rd person because that's what I feel like tonight.

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Knight and I make no profit from this.

* * *

"Where are you, Senri?" 6-year-old Rima ran down the street. The rain had drenched her, her makeup from the photo shoot was running, and she was missing a flip-flop. "Senri!" She called, but the thunder drowned her out. "Senri!" she tried again. She had tried to scent him out, after all, vampires have a good sense of smell, but the rain had washed away any trace of him. "Senri Shiki! You get out here right now!" Rima sniffled slightly, she had supposed to be keeping an eye on Senri, and she had promised their parents she would keep an eye on the anti-socialite redhead. Now, not only was she worried about her best friend, she was going to get in trouble with the adults.

"Rima!" Senri appeared out of nowhere, grabbing her and dragging her under an awning to protect her from the rain.

"Why did you run?" Rima knew though, and she felt like she should slap the little boy, after all, he had gotten her into trouble, they were both probably going to get sick, and he had scared her half to death.

"I don't like storms..." Senri mumbled, not looking at her, his cheeks a faint pink even in the icy rain. "Did the grown-ups get mad?"

"No, but they will be when we get back." Rima rubbed her eyes, the mascara really stung when it got in her eyes, couldn't the makeup artist at least have sprung for waterproof? "C'mon, Senri, we need to get back to the studio..."

"I don't want to go back..." Senri clutched at her as the wind blew harder. "Rima, you won't make me go back right?"

Rima felt her heart ache, she knew everything about her best friend, and she knew why he hated storms. It had to do with that drunken sot of a father who had beat the boy for years before being arrested on multiple charges.

"Ok, we don't have to go back." Rima mused that they probably wouldn't get in any more trouble for waiting out the storm. She pulled Senri close, their wet clothes sticking to them and each other.

"You're the best, Ri." Senri murmured, hiding his face in her hair, which had been left loose for the shoot. "Thank you..."

"I won't ever make you do anything you don't want to, Senri." Rima murmured, stroking his wet, blood red locks. "I'll keep you safe, and I'll never hurt you. Cross my heart."

"I don't know... how I can ever repay you..." Senri hugged Rima tightly to him.

"Just stay." The orange-haired girl whispered as the rain began to let up. "Just stay, that's all you need to do."

And that was what he did.

* * *

Author Note: There's a line in there that I fought with myself over and over if I wanted to leave it in or not, but it ended up staying in there. Anyway, I'm headed off to bed now; I'll answer reviews when I get up, so if you want to leave a comment, go for it. I do love hearing from my readers though...


	22. Trust Issues

A/N: It is late for me right now... so if this one seems a little loopy, I'm sorry. I'm trying my best. It's going to storm tomorrow and I don't want to add nothing tonight, since the power could go out. Rima's point of view.

Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Knight. I make no profit from this.

* * *

"What are you dreaming about?" Senri poked me in the side, waking me up.

"Nothing now." I moved my head onto his chest. "Quit waking me up."

Both Senri and I had had the remnants of a bad cold for the past week, and while he had turned almost childlike, I had turned into a bigger bitch than Ruka. Needless to say, these two were not a good combination at all.

"What do you think it's going to be like after we get out of Cross Academy?" Senri untied my hair ribbons and set them on my nightstand, then began to toy with my hair.

"Hm." I swatted at his hand. "I won't have to worry about those insane fangirls of yours."

"You don't have to worry about them now." A smile made his lips twitch just a little.

"So you'll always be with me?" I added, my temper fading off a bit. "Or will you run at the first sign that you have to make a commitment, like lots of guys?"

"If I was going to run, don't you think I would've by now?" Senri squeezed me against him, almost knocking the air out of me. "I'm not an idiot, Rima, I know who I love."

"Yeah." I silently begged him not to bring up my lack of trust, but since my eyes weren't on his it didn't work. Either that, or he just had to do it.

"You still don't trust me, do you?" Senri pulled me closer, as if unsure if _I_ would bolt. Fat chance.

"I trust you." I burrow my face into his neck, afraid to say anymore. I think it all started a month ago, when my sister attacked me, maybe that was when I lost my faith in people. Maybe it was when my Mother decided she had to find herself and ultimately disappeared. Either way, Senri hasn't been sure what to make of my distrust and me. I didn't want to open that can of worms daily, and while so many people might say I need therapy, I don't need a shrink. I just need someone to love me so much I'm forced to trust them.

Someone like Senri, who hasn't left my side in years.

"Just trust that I trust you." I whispered into Senri's neck.

"Mhm..." Was the only reply I got, and Senri pulled me as close as he could get me.

The sound of his pulse lulled me to sleep.

* * *

A/N: Agh! This one is so short, but I have so much more to do tonight, and I seriously need some sleep. (I'm laughing at myself, because I think I sound weird writing this, that's how sleep deprived I am.) Anyway, drop me a comment if you can, I love to hear from my readers, and I'm off to my Suika rounds.


	23. Questions and Makeout Sessions

A/N: It's almost two AM, my brain is going slower than a snail, but I've been neglecting my one shot collections and I'm sorry. It's a stress thing.

Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Knight and I make no profit from this.

* * *

"I'm not like my Father, am I?" Senri whispered in my ear. The Rido incident was over, and we were at my house, curled together on the sofa.

"No." I kissed his cheek, because I knew exactly how sensitive he was on this topic. He hated to think how much he was like his father, how much he was like that asshole who hadn't ever _been_ a Father to him. "You're sweet and caring, and definitely not crazy."

"But I look like him." Senri mumbled, pulling me closer. I was happy with his action at least, since lately he had been pushing me away. "My eyes..."

"You know what?" I pulled him down a little until we were nose to nose. "Here's what I say about that. You have two blue eyes, and he has one. So you're twice the man he could ever be."

Senri gifted me with a brief smile and a brush of a kiss on my lips. "You're a wonderful woman, Rima."

"I try." I murmured. "You're so much more mature than Rido-" I take a slight pause and force myself not to add an expletive in, "could ever have hoped to be. You're loving-" I kissed his jaw. "Sweet." I kissed his cheek. "Gentle." I kissed his nose, even though I had to pull him down more to do it. "Wonderful." I kissed his chin. "Perfect and all mine. You aren't your father's toy any more. You're your own person, and you're a wonderful person. You care, Senri, you're you, and I love you."

"One more thing." Senri looped his arm around my waist, though he did it in such a way that I wonder if he expected me to get up and leave him.

"Hm?" I cuddled up to him, settling my face on his collarbone. "Ask me anything you want. You know I don't lie." I closed my eyes, reveling in his body heat.

"You know I would never hurt you, right?" Senri's fingers twitch on my hip as he says it; just evidence of how much it kills him inside that Rido hurt me with his body.

"Senri, you're so harmless, a newborn kitten laughs at you." I smirked into his collarbone. "Duh, I know you would never hurt me. I'm not stupid."

He laughed, and that was the best reply I could've gotten. "Thank you Rima."

"Stop talking." I moved back up to eye level and smirked directly at him. "Shut up and kiss me."

Our lips met, and it was a heated kiss... until...

"Hello children." Mother walked past, and I can hear the laughter in her voice.

After that, we reasoned to stay out of my house for our makeout sessions.

* * *

A/N: I had that end planned out the whole time. I'm not lucid right now, and I'm laughing at nothing. And I kept falling asleep in my chair and waking up laughing, I don't know what that was about. Anyway, drop me a review if you will, I love hearing from my readers, and of course, thank you so much for reading.


	24. How It All Began

A/N: I actually had a different one shot up, but then I decided I hated it and took it down. Anyway, I'm thinking about canceling my one shot collections, making them complete, so please tell me what you think. I just can't add to them as much as I used to, and if I keep them up adds will probably come ever few months at best.

Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Knight and I make no profit from this.

* * *

Senri and Rima: at night class, no one really knew where there relationship started. But Senri and Rima do.

* * *

Rima was only four when her mother announced that a family friend's child was going to come and stay with them for a while. Rima was fine with that, but she was a little nervous since she didn't know any children outside the Aidou faction.

When he entered the house, she noticed his eyes. His eyes – icy blue – and his hair – bloodred – were in great contrast, causing the paleness of his face to almost fade into plain white.

The blank expression helped there, no doubt.

Rima's mother had told her that Senri, that was his name, his mother had to go stay in a special hospital for a while. Rima, when Senri entered the house, went over and gave him a big hug.

"We're going to be great friends." She said solemnly, kissed his cheek, and led him to her room.

Senri was vacant that night, but when morning came after everyone was tucked in for the night, Rima heard little footsteps pad down to her room and peek in.

"Are you still awake?" Senri asked, and that was his first attempt at trying to start a conversation with Rima, she was sure.

"Yes." She whispered. "Shh, don't wake Mom up."

"I want my Mommy." Senri sniffled, the vacant look gone and tears in his eyes. He crawled up next to Rima and sat beside her, looking desolate. "I don't want to be here... I want my Mom..."

"I know, it was hard for the first time I stayed away from home too." Rima soothed, but pulled down the covers. "You can sleep in here, ok? That helped me, staying with my friend in her room."

Senri gave her a contemplating look, and then crawled down under the covers, next to her.

"Don't cry Senri, it'll be alright." Rima smiled at him, pulled the blankets up, and laid her arm across his stomach. "I know it's hard, but I'm here. It'll be alright."

By the time they both fell asleep, they had developed a bond that was nearly unbreakable, and that would last for years to come.

* * *

And that was how it all began.

* * *

A/N: All right, there we go. Now, please vote on what's going to happen with my one shot collections. Are they going to be complete, or are they going to keep going with fewer adds?


	25. Naptime

A/N: I actually got this idea from reading an old one-shot of mine called Secrets And Fears from earlier in this collection. Anyway, lets get on with this because I still have my Rukain to do and it's getting late. Rima's point of view!

Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Knight or make a profit from this.

* * *

As a young girl, I swore up and down I would never have kids.

Now, many years later, I know exactly why.

* * *

"Sukie, Reiko, you get your a-" I barely restrained myself from swearing in front of my 2 year old daughters. I knew they would pick it up immediately too, they were gifted and I was cursed like that. "Get back here."

Sukie, the dominant one, made it to the top of the dresser, which sadly was out of my reach. I caught Reiko, who was born second and tends to be a follower, and settled her on my hip, trying to think how I could use her as a bargaining chip.

I heard the front door click shut and I smirked. "Honey! I need your help!" I called down the hall and listened to Senri pad down the hall. "I'm telling you, I win every time. Because I am the mother." I cast my smirk on Sukie as Reiko yawned and cuddled close to me.

"Again?" Senri stepped up to the dresser and pulled Sukie down with ease. "Can you ever get them down for their nap without me?"

"It's a rare occurrence." I looked down at Reiko as her little head bobbed, she was falling asleep. When I glanced at Senri's charge she was starting to fall asleep as well. "Quick, we need to get them into bed before they wake back up." I whispered to my husband.

Once we had them all tucked in, their blankets just so and their stuffed animals arranged around them so they could feel secure if they woke up early, Senri and I slipped away to our room for a much needed nap of our own.

"They'll only be asleep for a half hour, tops." I yawned and curled closer to Senri. "Who's getting up when they freak out?"

"I'll do it. You look exhausted." Senri ran his fingers through my hair. "You know, it's odd." He murmured in such a way I could go to sleep if I wanted, or I could listen. "They weren't planned in any sense of the word, yet, I couldn't imagine life without them now."

"Yeah." I yawned and chuckled. "I never wanted kids when I was a kid myself... but they're my daughters now and I wouldn't trade them for the world."

"I'm sure you'll change your tune when they're teenagers." Senri joked and I slapped his hand lightly before falling asleep with my head on his chest.

In our household, naptime was a staple.

* * *

A/N: I'm going to try to update these one-shot collections weekly, but I don't know if that's doable yet. I'll try though. Anyway, as you can tell they're not cancelled. I would love it if you left a review, so will you please?


	26. Some Things

A/N: This is counted as this week's add, so please don't ask me to update soon. Next week, I will update again, ok? Also, this is Rima's point of view.

Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Knight or make a profit from this.

* * *

Being from the Aidou faction, you can guess exactly how hard it is to get a moment alone with your loved one.

I think it started when I was nine.

_"Hanabusa leave me alone!" I yelled, shoving the blonde out of my room as Senri watched, emotionlessly, but still unwilling to get in the middle of the fight. "I want to be alone with Senri!"_

_"You want to do dirty things with Shiki!" Hanabusa crowed as I slammed the door in his face, cursing the fact that I didn't have a lock._

_"I'm going to kill him, I swear." I grumbled as I returned to Senri, who was sitting at my desk. "He never leaves me alone."_

_"What are you doing in there, Rima?" Ruka called next, and I could sense that Akatsuki had followed her, though he wasn't saying anything. "Ri! I need to talk to you _right now_!"_

_"Everyone just go away, I'm with my friend!" I yelped, hugging Senri tightly._

It progressed when I turned thirteen.

_"Mom says you can't be alone with a boy in your room." Ruka walked in without knocking and jumped on my bed next to Senri and I. _

_I ignored her for all she was worth and nudged Senri. "Sit up, you're going to choke on that pocky if you eat lying down."_

_He said nothing, but positioned the pocky in his mouth so it pointed at me. It was a cue, telling me to bite the end off of it so he could fit it in his mouth. I took my cue and watched Ruka's expression turn to disgust._

_"You two are gross, eating out of each other's mouths like that!" Ruka backed up towards the wall as if our grossness was contagious. _

_"Yeah, we're totally disgusting." Senri monotoned, and prided him on being able to say that straight-faced. Then again, Senri had always been the king of the poker face._

_Ruka ran from the room, but it was just our luck that she returned with both Hanabusa and Akatsuki._

And to this day, it still hasn't gotten any better.

"If you two aren't going to makeout quietly, you're going to have to go to Senri's room." Ruka bopped me on top of the head as she headed for her bed. "I hate it when you two suck face loudly while I'm trying to sleep."

Some things never change.

* * *

A/N: My mouse is acting funny so I don't know how much longer I can stand typing these tonight. I don't know what's going on... Anyway, what'd you think?


	27. Just Joking

A/N: Here's the add of the week, because I don't want to deal with this later in the week. I'm having so much fiction trouble it's not even funny and I want some fiction time to try and work things out. I think my fiction just took off its wedding ring.

Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Knight or make a profit from this.

* * *

"Don't even try to make a joke out of it." I growled as I tugged at the waistband of my jeans. I hate my period so much it's not even funny, and I'm not joking when I say that Midol doesn't work for vampires.

"I'm not going to make fun of you for _that_." Senri muttered, sprawling himself out on my bed. "It's not your fault."

"Aidou thinks otherwise." I sighed as I slipped into the bathroom to change into sweatpants. When Aunt Flo comes to town, you just can't win.

"Isn't it ironic that vampire girls have a period when vampires drink blood?" Senri asked through the door. Trust him to be the only one not to tippy-toe around something like a menstrual cycle.

"Yes." I tugged on the sweatpants and opened the door, throwing the jeans in the general vicinity of my dresser. "But I also find it strange that we have nosebleeds and bleed when cut." I throw myself on the bed next to him and bury my face in his shirt. "Oh, God, I think I'm going to die before I go to class tonight."

Somewhere down the hall a slap resounded. We looked at each other in simple understanding; Ruka was hormonal and was taking it out on Aidou.

"Why is it that you and Ruka always have your period at the same time?" Senri asked, blinking his bright blue eyes at me.

"Because Mother Nature is the biggest bitch ever." I replied, completely straight faced.

"I think someone's hormonal other than Ruka." Senri raised an eyebrow at me. He held my gaze for a few moments, and just when I was about to slap him, a smile spread across his face and he chimed, "Just joking."

I ended up kissing him instead.

* * *

A/N: A really short one, but I was trying to be funny and I felt like a I was doing a crappy job of it, so I tied it off. What did you think?


	28. Brighter

A/N: I hate the heat, and I'm blaming it for not updating on time. Oh, and having to have my meds tested as well, or I would've updated last night probably. But I'm back now, so sorry. This is Senri's point of view this time.

Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Knight or make any profit from this.

* * *

"Rima!" I squeezed her hand as Takuma laid her in her bed. "Rima, please, I'm sorry."

She laughed, and it was a far cry from her usual laughter. "I'm not mad. Am I ever mad?" She tried to sit up, but she flinched and coughed up blood, her chest heaving.

"It's not healing." Takuma had pressure on her wound, the wound that Rido, my father, had given her with my body. Blood was soaking through the towel that he had pressed against Rima's chest.

"Don't be a baby, Takuma." Rima chastised, but then her eyes rolled back in her head and she fell limp against the pillows. She fought it, of course, Rima being Rima, and within minutes she was coughing up more blood onto her school uniform. The white uniform was stained forever, like I knew our relationship would be if she survived.

"Rima." I shoved Takuma out of the way and put my hand on the towel to apply pressure to Rima's wound. "Drink." I was at an awkward angle, but she could still get to my carotid artery if she could sit up just a bit.

"Takuma." Rima snapped, and her tone was sharp although her eyes had gone watery. Takuma darted out of the room, slamming the door behind him in his haste and we were alone.

Rima's teeth sank into my neck with the gentlest of motions, and I let her drink as much as she wanted, I had hurt her after all.

She sank back onto the pillows after a few minutes, eyes already half closed. "I love you, Senri." She whispered; her hand searching for mine in what I assumed, to her, was an impending darkness.

"I love you too, Rima." I whispered, holding her hand tightly. "I'm sorry."

When I looked at her, I realized she was already asleep.

I slowly took my hand off the towel, and removed it from her chest. I didn't have a very good view of the injury with just the clean cut hole in her uniform, so I took the liberty of ripping her uniform slightly to get a better view.

I quickly realized that the wound was gone, without the slightest hint of a scar. I swallowed my happy tears and lay beside her.

Watching her sleep, knowing she was alright, my night just got much brighter.

* * *

A/N: I did my best with this, since I didn't have a plan until I got going. Usually I have a prompt, but I wasn't able to come up with one. The next update will be next week, hopefully earlier than it was this week. Anyway, what did you think?


	29. Water and Electricity

A/N: It's time for the weekly add, and I don't feel lucid, so please correct me if I do something stupid. I'm using my prompt from my Naruto one-shot collection, but it's going to be different, obviously. Anyway, thank you guys for sticking around for another add. I appreciate it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Knight or make any profit from this.

* * *

We were 13 when it happened.

"It's so hot..." Ruka whined as we – meaning her, Akatsuki, Senri, and I – laid out in the grass in the gardens. We were under a tree, but the heat was oppressive, and the air conditioning was broken in my house, where we were staying. The night hadn't brought any relief from the heat at all.

"It would be worse if Hanabusa was here." I noted. "You feel hotter when you're annoyed."

Ruka moaned and laid her head on Akatsuki's chest, as if that would help. Senri pulled my pigtail gently to get my attention. He tossed a glance towards another part of the estate and I sat up.

"I forgot, I'm sorry, the pool is open." I jumped up, dragging Senri behind me as Ruka and Akatsuki blinked in surprise. "I know you guys brought your bathing suits, so let's go."

It took us 5 minutes flat to get changed; despite there were four of us that had to actually get ready.

"Rima, as soon as I'm not so damn hot, I'm going to kill you." Ruka huffed, but her tone was merely scolding, she didn't mean it. Akatsuki would've stopped her if she were serious.

Ruka and I dangled our feet in for a few minutes before actually getting in, and the boys slid right in. The water felt frigid, and within minutes my teeth were chattering.

"Are you really that cold, Rima?" Senri asked as I shivered.

I shot a glare at him for pointing it out. I kept thinking that it was just the sudden shift, that I would adjust eventually, but I just kept shivering.

Eventually, Senri pulled me against him and held me there, letting me warm up using his body heat. But within a few minutes of me being adjusted, we heard thunder and it started to pour, so we rushed inside.

"The sky ruined our fun." Ruka pouted, looking up at Akatsuki with big eyes.

I tipped my head to the side at Senri to ask if they were dating, and my redhead just shrugged in response. Funny how neither of us could tell, and Ruka hadn't told me.

When it became apparent that it wasn't going to stop storming, we changed out of our bathing suits and huddled in the living room.

We had been watching TV for about thirty minutes, and the thunder was getting especially close, when Senri jerked beside me and whispered in my ear, "Did you just shock me?"

"What?" I pulled my hands in front of my face and stared at them, sure enough, little zaps of electricity were coming from my fingertips.

I excused myself and locked myself in the bathroom after that, begging it to stop. It had only happened once before, and I had nearly killed someone that time.

"Rima?" Senri knocked on the bathroom door, and the door thumped as he leaned against it. "Rima, it won't be that bad. The storm is leaving, it'll be over in a minute."

I unlocked the door and he slipped inside, holding me and enduring all the little zaps he got from it. As the storm faded off, so did the electricity, to the point where I could contain it. I leaned against Senri and inhaled deeply. We both still smelled of chlorine from the pool, but the smell of his blood was there, under it, relaxing me.

The rain kept coming, but my electricity had faded.

* * *

A/N: It isn't very long, and it feels kind of weird, but there are parts that I like in it. What did you think?


	30. Placing Bets

A/N: I'm using the same theme for all my one-shots because I am seriously rushing. I'm sorry, but I wanted to add before I leave and before it storms, and I'm doing what I can.

Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Knight or make any profit from this.

* * *

"I'm so sorry to hear about your husband." Mrs. Touya sighed as she and Mrs. Shiki sipped blood tablets at the table. The kids had been left to play alone, since they hadn't had any behavioral problems with either, together or separate.

"It's alright." Ms. Shiki swirled the liquid in her glass. "I'm doing fine without him, and so is Senri, for the most part. I think being here really helps him though, he seems to love your daughter."

"They have a deep understanding of each other." Mrs. Touya nodded. "Rima seems to know Senri better than he knows himself, or so it seems."

Ms. Shiki nodded, smiling a bit. Senri needed someone like that.

* * *

"Come on, Senri, you're tired and it's naptime." Four-year-old Rima Touya proceeded to tuck Senri – and herself – into her bed.

"Why are you so nice?" Senri asked, holding her hands gently. He didn't understand this girl; she was kind to him without having a good reason to be kind to him. It just didn't make sense.

"Because you need me, and I need you." Rima let go of his hands only to wrap her little arms around Senri and pull him close. "You need to love yourself more. You're very lovable."

"No, I'm not." Senri murmured, and for a moment he struggled in her hold. "I'm not lovable. I'm just a puppet."

The surprise came when Senri received a slap across the cheek in response.

"You're not a puppet. You're a lovable, sweet, vampire boy. You're a person." Rima pulled him close again. "Now, damn it, I know you're tired, and I am too. Go to sleep." Rima began to hum some human lullaby she had learned until both of them were asleep, pressed close together, like kittens in a pile.

* * *

"They're so cute like that!" Ms. Shiki exclaimed in a whisper, peering into Rima's room.

"They understand each other. They don't have any fear when it comes to each other, and they're not afraid to sleep in the same bed. Want to bet on if they'll end up together as adults?"

Ms. Shiki shook her head, because she knew if she placed a bet on that, she would lose.

* * *

A/N: I'm trying to get everything done quickly, but I hope you liked this anyway. If not, I may write a new one when the storm is over.


	31. Uniform Behavior

A/N: I had an idea for over here and decided to make this idea span all of my one-shot collections. No, I'm not kidding, yes, all four of them. We'll see how this goes, I guess. Also! This was heavily inspired by PetiteShima's SenriXRima slideshow on youtube. Please, go watch it, it's lovely and she doesn't get enough views! PetiteShima, this one's for you!

Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Knight or make any profit from this.

* * *

"Rima?" Senri began to follow me like a cute little burgundy haired puppy as I exited Akatsuki's room. "Rima, what were you doing in there?"

"Nothing important." I turned the corner and opened the door to my and Ruka's room, glanced inside and sighed. "It's a weird story."

"But you never talk to Akatsuki." Senri's voice had become meek and he sounded like a little kid all over again. "Why were you talking to him?"

"Yes, I do. And because I'm looking for something." I started down the stairs, my little burgundy puppy at my heels. "Now is not the time to talk to me. I'm busy."

"Do you love me, Rima?" He seemed more anxious than he ever had, as if the fact that I had been in Akatsuki and Hanabusa's room was literally tearing him apart inside. His eyes were slowly acquiring a mean look to them, and I didn't understand why.

"Senri, I love you with my whole heart." I sighed and inspected the living room. No Ruka, who I had been looking for most of the past hour. "Honestly, this is annoying though. Please, stop breathing down my neck."

"Do you love Akatsuki?" Senri wrapped his arms around me, preventing any escape. "Do you love him more than me?"

"You're _jealous?" _I spun and looked up at him. "Honestly, Senri, Akatsuki has nothing on you. I needed to know where Ruka is; I can't find her. She did laundry after me, and my good school uniform was in the dryer. Could you not panic so quickly?"

Senri took a deep breath in. "You're kidding, right?"

"No, I wanted my good uniform because one has a large hole in it and the other has some unidentifiable filth on it." I sighed. "I blame Hanabusa for both. But Senri?"

I waited until he looked at me for a few moments.

I kissed him hard, and I kissed him until I had him backed up against the wall, his hands in my hair, my arms around his neck.

"You're mine, and I'm not ever giving up that right." I panted when we separated.

Senri gave me a small smile, and then let me slip away to look for that damned uniform.

* * *

A/N: It's short, I know. If my dates are correct, this is just an extra for this week. If not, I added late and I'm sorry. What'd you think?


	32. Worth It

A/N: A repeat of what I said on my Suika one-shot collection. I will take themes for one-shots if anyone wants to send me one, or a few, in a review or PM. Nothing sexual, filthy, or outright lengthy please, but other than that have fun. You send it in, I'll write it. On another note, I've been doing this theme (First baby just born) on my Snapshots GW collection, and I thought maybe it would fit here. Also, I have a poll for my next VK story you can check out, and I am not starting that story until I get at least three votes... I want it to be fair. I'll stop babbling though.

Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Knight. I don't make a profit from this. And doesn't everyone know this by now?

* * *

"He looks like you." Rima whispered, holding their baby boy as she lay in the hospital bed.

"No. I think he looks like you." Senri was perched on the edge of her bed, peering at the blue-blanketed bundle in Rima's arms.

"Bullshit." Rima rolled her eyes and their son, Tani, blinked up at her, though he didn't seem surprised.

"You're going to have to clean that language up before he starts learning to talk." Senri gently took the baby from Rima. "You don't want him talking like in front of his tutor do you?"

"He's not going to be some wuss who doesn't know what those words are and learns them from his friends." Rima sat up a little, flinched, and lay back quickly. "It's going to be his choice if he uses them." She paused. "But with any luck they won't be his first words."

Senri smiled, it seemed like Rima wouldn't change at all with motherhood.

Tani clearly looked like Senri the most; he had the shock of burgundy hair and the ice blue eyes. But beyond that, he had Rima's facial structure and, if you looked carefully enough, there were dots of cerulean mixed into the ice blue of his irises. His tuft of blood red hair even had natural highlights mixed in.

"He's going to be a real heartbreaker." Rima laughed, and while she sounded exhausted, she also sounded perfectly happy too.

"Are you happy that he mostly looks like me?" Senri ventured, raising an eyebrow at his wife. "Why would you be happy about that?"

Rima sighed; she seemed to be getting sleepier by the second. "I didn't want him to look like me. I mean, guys get teased for looking like their Mothers. But I had hoped he would look like you, because you're good looking and it's not a shame to most people to look like your Dad."

"You have strange logic." Senri shook his head and put the baby in the bassinette as his little eyes closed.

"My brother looked just like our Mother and he was teased until he turned twenty." Rima looked about ready to fall asleep, but she was fighting it for all she was worth.

"Honey, he doesn't look like you, quit stressing out about it." Senri whispered in her ear. "Go to sleep." When Rima still refused, he lay beside her and wrapped her in his arms.

Rima eventually drifted off, stress melting away from her features, replaced by a subtle smile.

"That's my love." Senri whispered and kissed her cheek. Somehow, it was almost laughable. The birth of his first child had been less stressful than any day of Rima's pregnancy.

Wasn't the birth supposed to make the woman hate you? Rima hadn't said anything cruel to him the whole time, though she had broken his hand. That was forgivable though, especially since it had healed almost immediately.

Senri stood, being careful not to wake Rima, though it seemed she was out. He peered into the bassinette, at the little life that was also sleeping peacefully.

All the stress was worth it.

* * *

A/N: Eh... I almost hated it enough to not put it up here, because I felt like I was babbling and had no clue where to end it or what I was doing, but I want an add this week and don't know what else I could do. Maybe I'll take it down and write something else when I have a free 20 minutes, but for now, what did you think? Leave a theme if you want.


	33. Potato Salad

A/N: I'm sorry, my add is late again. I swear I have a good reason. I have been feeling really icky lately, and have barely been out of bed or off the couch. It sucks, but I'm doing my best to get adds in for you.

Theme: Potato Salad Theme Supplier: Brookii

Disclaimer: Don't we all know that I don't own Vampire Knight by now? Because I don't. I never have or will, and I will never make profit off these fanfictions.

* * *

It had been a really long day; things had been burned, there had been food fights, things had been dropped, and there was food – raw, cooked and burnt in varying degrees – everywhere.

In short, the night class was wondering why they had signed up for a home economics class.

The boys hadn't been brave enough to join in, so Rima, Seiren, and Ruka were all stuck on their own, burning and dropping and breaking things. It was all a state of ungraceful movements, of vampires that didn't know what to do in the kitchen.

Ruka had lit an entire peach pie on fire, and had required a fire extinguisher.

Seiren had dropped, and then slipped in, several eggs.

Rima had the most luck so far, managing to make potato salad without hurting anyone or otherwise maiming the kitchen.

"Rima, you seem to be having some luck!" Kaien Cross chirped as the smoke alarm went off for at least the twelfth time.

Rima was removing a batch of only slightly burnt cookies from the oven, and she looked at the headmaster and nodded.

Then the timer, the one that they had all been waiting for because it signaled class ending, went off, and Akatsuki and Senri crept in. Seiren was trying to drift off to a corner while wiping egg yolk off her bare leg under her skirt and Ruka had fixed Akatsuki with a third degree glare, despite that he was innocent of everything.

"Any luck?" Senri asked as Rima stood by her tray of cookies on potholders and bowl of potato salad and gave her boyfriend a bored look.

"You tell me." Rima got a forkful of potato salad and slipped it into Senri's mouth.

Senri swallowed, but he looked pained as he did so. "Maybe next time." He sighed.

Rima laughed, and pulled him down to kiss him. They stood there, kissing, while the smoke alarm went off again. While Kaien hurried to turn it off and slipped in raw eggs. While Ruka crumbled to being near tears as she fumbled with the knobs on the stove and Akatsuki finally did it for her. While Kaname and Yuki watched from just outside the kitchen, silent and smiling.

And Senri knew one thing. Rima's kisses were much better than her cooking.

And maybe that from now on they would stick to pocky.

* * *

A/N: Ugh, I didn't get a last line title tie in. Sorry. Anyway, I hope you liked it, and I am going to go add to Fireplace on a different theme and then come back here with that theme. What did you think? Especially you, Brookii, please tell me what you thought!


	34. Firsts

A/N: I'm doing my best to get everything done. I swear, I'm trying. I will not be doing any more adds on my canon one-shot collections this week. Snapshots is a totally different story. Anyway, let's get going.

Theme: Firsts Theme Supplier: artist at work

Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Knight or make any profit from this.

* * *

Firsts are special for any couple. But for Rima and Senri, firsts are especially dear to them.

Everyone they meet is told that they first met at a modeling job, which is a lie. They met when Senri tried to runaway after his Mother was put in a mental hospital, and Rima took him home with her. She got him into modeling, and their friendship grew from there. It began when they were ten years old.

The first time they ate pocky together, Rima had retrieved a box from the kitchen, but Senri was zoned, not paying her a bit of attention. First she poked him with the chocolate end of the pocky, until he got the picture and opened his mouth. Rima couldn't restrain her giggles as he tried to look down at the pocky without removing it from his mouth.

"What is this?" Senri asked when he finished that piece of pocky.

"It's pocky, dork." Rima teased gently. Still, she secretly felt bad for the boy who had never eaten pocky before.

Their first modeling job together was very nearly disastrous. It was quickly becoming apparent that Senri was the one thing that could make ever stoic Rima hyper, and chasing each other around the set, they caused the team a lot of problems.

The first time one of them got jealous, they were 13. It was Rima, it was unlikely that Senri would ever turn green with jealousy the way the orange haired girl did. The second Rima caught a glance of the makeup artist's daughter hitting on Senri she dragged her burgundy-haired boyfriend out of there faster than Senri could've told the girl that he wasn't interested.

"You're mine." Rima crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Senri. "I don't like it when you flirt with other women."

If it had been unofficial to this point, it wasn't anymore. Despite that they had never even kissed, it quickly became a label; they were each other's.

They didn't even kiss until they had been official for about two months. It just didn't seem all that interesting, they conveyed more with the way they cuddled close to each other or held out pocky to each other than it seemed they could convey by kissing. But when Rima's birthday party came, they had their first kiss the next morning, cuddled close in Rima's room.

Sometimes, firsts are worth waiting for.

* * *

A/N: Alright, I might be back to do something on Snapshots in a bit, but other than that I'm done here for tonight... or this morning, whatever it is. What did you think? And you can drop me a theme if you want, just nothing sexual, otherwise filthy, or unreasonably lengthy. Peace out.


	35. Just Because Day

Theme: Valentine's Day Theme Supplier: Pretty In Orange

A/N: Again, it's not the right time of the year for a Valentine's Day one-shot, and I personally hate the day, but I didn't have a better theme. Feel free to throw a theme my way if you want, as long it's not filthy or really lengthy, I'll use it. Specify which collection it's for, or multiple collections if you want. Let's get going.

Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Knight or make any profit from this.

* * *

Senri and Rima met when they were 7, at a child's modeling gig. They became fast friends, but soon, Senri noticed something odd about his close buddy.

Where the other girls went crazy for Valentine's Day, she ignored it. She pretended it didn't exist, where other girls were obsessed.

But Senri got the concept. If you liked someone, you showed them that you liked them. And he liked Rima. So he kissed her on the cheek.

Rima's glare was even and unfaltering. "What was that for?"

Senri wracked his brain for an answer, clearly she didn't like Valentine's Day, and so he had to say something else.

"Just because." He stood up straight and gave her a small smile. Rima gave him the momentary raise of an eyebrow, and then she turned away.

Slowly, Valentine's Day became "Just Because" day. They weren't dating, not yet, and Senri got away with a lot for not mentioning the real name of that day. Just Because day was reason to kiss Rima's cheek or forehead, bring her flowers or chocolates, or just hug her unusually tight.

Then came the Just Because day when they were 14. Senri had waited until they were alone, plotting everything carefully, and then he had grabbed Rima and kissed her as romantically as a fourteen year old could possibly manage.

Rima blinked when he finally pulled away. "What was that for?"

"Just because... I love you." Senri leaned down a bit to tip his forehead to hers.

"Hm..." Rima was silent for a moment, and then she slowly slid her hands up his chest and around his neck. "Isn't it obvious I love you too?"

They shared their first, second, third and fourth kiss on that balcony, in the moonlight.

These days, Just Because day is Rima's favorite day of the year.

* * *

A/N: I have to hop off to bed, so anyone who reads The Coexistence of Lilac and Magenta, that will be up tonight, as will the next chapter of Twin Heart Snatchers. Anyway, it was short, but what did you think?


	36. Puppy

A/N: I'm about ready to conk out at my desk, but I'm pretty sure I promised this to PetiteShima last night, and now it's this morning, so technically I'm already late. I'm sorry. The pet's name, Kouki, means light, happiness, hope, radiance and sunshine.

Theme: Rima gains a pet and shares it with Senri/the pet's involvement in their lives Theme Supplier: PetiteShima

Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Knight or make a profit from this. And I might seem loopy, sorry, apologies are in advance today.

* * *

The squirming German Shepherd pup was placed in seven-year-old Rima Touya's arms one night when her Mother came home.

"You need to learn responsibility, Rima." Mrs. Touya lectured gently as Rima set the puppy down and held onto his collar. The pup seemed perfectly content to lean on Rima and have her scratch his neck lightly. "This puppy will help you do that. You're going to be the one to walk him and feed him, brush him and love him. You'll have some help training him if you want, but other than that..."

Mrs. Touya kept going, but Rima just peered down at the puppy. His bright, chocolate brown eyes looked up at her with excitement, and she continued to rub little circles under his collar.

* * *

Two weeks later, Mrs. Touya became Ms. Touya. The divorce was messy, and little Rima was sent off, with her new companion, to stay at her best friend Senri's house.

"You got a puppy?" Senri asked as Kouki, the puppy, jumped up on him. Senri was unfazed as Kouki licked his face and proceeded to attempt to knock him down, despite the size difference.

"Off." Rima commanded and Kouki returned to her side and lay down. "His name is Kouki. Mom said I needed him to learn responsibility."

Senri reached down and petted the dog gently. Rima clicked her tongue when Kouki began to chew on Senri's hand softly, and the puppy stopped immediately.

"Did you train him?" Senri asked, kneeling on the carpet to pet Kouki some more. The dog seemed just as entranced with Senri as he was with Rima, and that was saying something.

"He's almost completely trained since I got him two weeks ago." Rima's tone was affectionate, but firm. "Don't worry, he's housetrained and knows most commands. It's just tricks I haven't done yet."

Senri was silent for a moment or two, staring at the puppy. "That's cool, Rima, I would love to have a dog."

"What if we shared custody of him?" Rima offered. "My parents are going to share custody of me, and I don't think I want to take him from house to house, but he seems to like you. It would probably be better."

Senri nodded. His Mom loved animals, she wouldn't care.

* * *

Over the years the puppy grew into an adult, and it cemented the link between the two children, growing into adults themselves. They took the dog out on long walks in the countryside, and occasionally to the beach.

Kouki was their pride and joy, the only thing they treated like their baby. It was strangely appropriate, their little family, girl, boy, and dog. Their parents, Ms. Touya, still healing from the divorce, and Ms. Shiki, whose mind was deteriorating, took solace in the responsibility and love that their children had for Kouki.

But the years took their toll on the beloved pet, and soon Kouki was sick every day with some sort of ailment. His movements said it all, the way he limped or coughed. The veterinarian recommended all kinds of pills and remedies, but each one did nothing for Kouki. Rima and Senri were becoming frantic, as Kouki got weaker, and less mobile.

Senri and Rima were sitting in Rima's room, letters from Cross Academy and lists of what they would need if they chose to go were strewn across Rima's bed, and Kouki was on his dog bed. His breath was rattling slightly, the worst of his ailments at the time, and the rattling got quieter and quieter. Rima and Senri watched on in horror as they watched their best friend pass away.

There was a moment of understanding silence, and then Rima swallowed hard and looked at the letter. "I think... we should go now." She whispered.

Senri didn't say anything; he was forcing himself to look at her.

"Our parents want us to go... and what is there to stay for anymore?" Rima swallowed again and rubbed her eyes, hands shaking as she gathered up their letters. "Let's take care of Kouki, and then go get ready."

In one way, it was the end of an era. Their beloved pet was gone, and they were leaving for a boarding school. But in a way, it was only beginning.

When they married, once Rima was pregnant, they began looking for a puppy for their child.

* * *

A/N: I tried really hard to steer it to a happy ending, but it feels kind of depressing to me still. I may rewrite, depending on what you guys, and you PetiteShima, think. I tried to make it as realistic as possible. Anyway, I think I need a nap now, so I'll answer reviews tonight. Thank you for reading!


	37. Memorable

A/N: Yes, this one is AU so everyone is human. If you don't read Fireplace, I'm going to try to start updating these collections weekly again, but can't make any promises.

Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Knight or make any profit off of this.

* * *

Rima stared at the pile of ashes. The fire was gone, but the smell of smoke still seemed to hang in the air. People were milling around, some hugging their children, a few crying.

But all Rima could remember was her past with that building. It had been where everything began, where her life truly started...

* * *

_"__Little __Rima__'__s __so __independent!__" __The __daycare __worker __cooed __as __the __small, __pigtailed __girl __walked __away __from __her __Mother._

_"Yes, she is." Mrs. Touya sighed. "You just have to pay extra close attention that she doesn't wander off."_

_The grownups' chitchat faded into the background as Rima spied a redheaded, blue-eyed boy in a corner, staring off into space._

_"Want to play?" She asked, extending her hand to him. "Come on."_

_A few moments passed in silence between them. It registered with Rima that this boy didn't want to play, simple as that. So she sat beside him, holding his hand._

_"What's your name?" She asked, studying him. His eyes were a shockingly light shade of blue, but they seemed vacant._

_"Senri Shiki." He said, looking at her. Rima was shocked by exactly how vacant Senri's eyes were – they were like a doll's almost._

_"I'm Rima Touya." Rima said and then they were both silent._

_It took a few moments, but soon Senri's hand curled around Rima's, and to the amazement of the daycare staff, they sat there in the corner, huddled together until it was time to go home._

* * *

"No one was hurt." A voice said in Rima's ear, and she turned to come face to face with her boyfriend, Senri. He continued calmly, "Everyone got out in time to avoid even smoke inhalation injuries."

"Good." Rima nodded, holding his hand and knitting her fingers through his.

"Too bad, isn't it?" Senri mused, studying the ashes. "It was a great place. But everyone is safe and we've got our memories."

Rima smiled slightly and led Senri away. The most important thing was not the daycare itself, but the relationship she had taken away from it.

When she walked away with Senri, whose eyes were no longer vacant, she was sure of that.

* * *

A/N: This came about thinking about an old daycare I went to as a little kid, and wondering if it's even still there. I know I'm rusty at writing these, but what did you think?


	38. Feel Better

A/N: I haven't been over here in this fandom for a really long time, and I'm not quite caught up in the series, so I'm doing an AU this time. I'll try to get caught up soon because I know AU stories bug some people. They're all human here, by the way.

Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Knight and I make no profit from this.

* * *

**Warnings: Strong language and themes!**

* * *

17-year-old Rima studied herself in the mirror. She was exhausted from staying up all night trying to calm Senri down, and she had just managed to get him to sleep. The morning light seeped through the window, prickling her sleepless eyes.

It was all that bastard's fault. Senri's Father who had treated Senri like dirt since he was born... no, he probably held dirt in higher regard than his own son. And that man... that evil son of a bitch, had abused Senri, even managing to hurt him after he and Senri's Mother had separated. And now Senri's Mother had died at that man, Rido's, hand. The hand of the man that she had once loved had broken her irreparably.

Rima had begged her parents to adopt Senri, and she had succeeded. But at this point, three weeks into Senri living with her, she was wondering if Senri could ever really heal. He still couldn't sleep at night, still had nightmares when he did. Rima understood how tragic it was, she knew that he was hurt. It hurt her to see him in such emotional agony. But what was done couldn't be changed, no matter how long or how severely Senri grieved for his Mother. At some point he'd have to move on.

Rima smudged some concealer under her eyes to hide her lack of sleep. She didn't need all that much to get through a day, but her eyes still looked haggard from it.

She couldn't help but sigh as she looked at Senri's sleeping form. She didn't know what she could do anymore, but she couldn't do nothing.

She dressed in the bathroom and then came back to Senri, kissing him to wake him. "Morning." She whispered, running her lips across his cheek.

The redheaded boy's eyes opened slowly, and he drank the sight of her in like it was the water he needed to stay alive. He drew in a deep breath, and then pulled her to his chest and just held her.

"I'm here." Rima murmured, stone faced expression never changing. It just seemed simple to keep that expression, to be Senri's rock rather than to cry. She felt like if she broke down, Senri would feel worse than if he had someone who could be there for him. Senri's Mother had been a second Mother to Rima, but Rima just knew that if she let it out, Senri would lose any progress that he had made.

"Rima?" Senri whispered, still holding her to his chest.

Rima blinked, but didn't move. Even though she was at the world's most awkward angle, standing and bent over the bed onto his chest, she was willing to stay that way if it made him feel better.

"Yeah?" She asked after a moment's pause. "What is it?"

"Can you do me a favor?" Senri pulled her all the way onto the bed, having read in her eyes that she didn't enjoy standing like that.

"What?" Rima snuggled close to him, locking eyes with him. Those ice blue eyes that she was looking into had seen almost everything about her. Every time she got yelled at, got hurt, everything. But on rare occasion had they seen her cry. Rima never cried unless she knew Senri wasn't upset. If he was upset, he needed a security blanket, not a blubbering girlfriend to make it worse. At least, that's what she thought.

"Let it out." Senri never broke eye contact. "I know you're upset too. And it isn't good for you to hold it in. I know you're upset somewhere in there, and I don't want to feel alone anymore. I want you to cry."

Rima blinked. This went against everything she had believed. He _wanted_ her to _cry_?

Rima attempted to stare Senri down, to silently protest, but the more she stared into his eyes, the more she saw how broken he was inside, the more she wanted to cry. Before she knew it, one tear slipped down, then another, then another.

"Thank you." Senri whispered, pulling her to his chest. "Thank you, Rima. I feel better now."

Rima just didn't understand it would be that easy... or that hard.

* * *

A/N: I don't really know where this came from... A lot is going on in my family right now I guess, and there are a lot of plotlines that come from that. Anyway, tell me what you think will you? If you're a returning reader, thank you so much for returning after my long break!


End file.
